Policing terrorism with procedural justice: the role of police legitimacy and law legitimacy

Abstract

Research shows that procedural justice influences public cooperation with the police. However, it cannot be assumed that factors that influence cooperation in general crime control also apply to people's willingness to cooperate in counter-terrorism. This proposition is tested among a sample of Arabic-speaking people in Australia. We explore whether procedural justice has an impact on reported willingness to cooperate in counterterrorism policing, and if this is mediated by law legitimacy and identity related factors. Our results show that perceptions about the legitimacy of the law and identification with Australian society matter a great deal when it comes to predicting cooperation in counter-terrorism. In contrast, perceptions of police legitimacy matter most for predicting cooperation in general crime control activities. Our discussion and results are linked to debates about how best to police terrorism.