Real Policing: An Exploration In Police Legitimacy

Abstract

The police require legitimacy in order to function. It is argued that this legitimacy can be attained through procedural justice; that is, fairness. An ethnographic study of street-level policing was undertaken to explore this idea. From this study issues embedded in policing emerged (discretion, threat, and cynicism). Broader issues also emerged. For example, officers function as street-level bureaucrats. However, officers suffer from extreme stress and suicide. Also, officers feel they handle society’s “dirty work.” In employing procedural justice, officers do not usually impose their will on citizens. Rather, they negotiate an acceptable outcome in most situations. However, outside influences impinge on the police.