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Why do People Cooperate with the Police and Criminal Courts? A Test of Procedural Justice Theory in 30 Countries

Jackson, Jonathan; Kuha, Jouni; Bradford, Benjamin; Hough, Mike; (2025) Why do People Cooperate with the Police and Criminal Courts? A Test of Procedural Justice Theory in 30 Countries. Criminology (In press).

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Abstract

This paper presents a cross-national test of the portability of procedural justice theory. Drawing on nationally representative survey data from 30 diverse social, political and legal contexts across Europe and beyond, we find that the theory travels well across national borders and that its psychological purchase is particularly pronounced in societies where fair policing is seen as the norm. First, in most countries, a normative account of public cooperation with the police—grounded in procedural justice and legitimacy—has greater empirical traction than an instrumental account based on effectiveness and fear of crime. Second, while procedural justice consistently emerges as the strongest predictor of police legitimacy, it is especially important in contexts where the police are widely viewed as fair and inclusive authorities—a proxy for their status as a positive group authority. These findings help lay the groundwork for cross-national extensions of procedural justice theory, pointing to the need for further research into the social and institutional conditions that shape its psychological impact.

Type: Article
Title: Why do People Cooperate with the Police and Criminal Courts? A Test of Procedural Justice Theory in 30 Countries
Publisher version: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17459125
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author-accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Security and Crime Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10208019
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