Investigating police self-legitimacy: individual-level predictors of self-identification and perceived external legitimacy

PurposeUsing an online survey design and a primary data collection of police officers working in a large city in the southern United States, the current study finds evidence that officers perceptions of police legitimacy can be divided into two types: self-identification and perceived external legitimacy. The study investigates the role of perceived organizational support, leader–member exchange and demographic factors in predicting perceptions of self-identification and perceived external legitimacy.Design/methodology/approachThe police legitimacy literature has focused primarily on the public's perceptions of the legitimacy of police. There is limited understanding of the components of officers' attitudes towards police legitimacy, or the predictors of those components.FindingsResults of the Ordinary Least Squares regression models indicate perceived organizational support mediates the relationship between leader–member exchange and self-identification and perceived external legitimacy. Exploratory mediation analyses indicate perceived organizational support mediates both of those relationships.Originality/valueThe results provide further evidence that the two types of self-perceived legitimacy are analytically distinct. They differ from previous work in that demographic and organizational variables predict each type similarly, and that one predictor (POS) mediates the influence of another (LMX). The results have implications for future police self-legitimacy research.