Reducing Officers’ Resistance to Evidence-Based Policing: Does Police Self-Legitimacy Matter?

In recent years, efforts to reduce police resistance to evidence-based policing (EBP) have gained increasing attention. Simultaneously, amid a global crisis of police legitimacy, scholarly interest in police self-legitimacy has grown. Using survey data from police officers in South Korea, this study examines the role of police self-legitimacy in reducing resistance to EBP, as well as its mediating role in the relationship between organizational factors and resistance. The findings reveal a significant negative association between self-legitimacy and resistance to EBP. Moreover, self-legitimacy mediates the relationship between organizational factors, specifically cynicism toward organizational change and supervisor support, and resistance. These results suggest that police agencies aiming to reduce resistance to EBP should implement strategies that enhance officers’ confidence in their authority. This can be achieved by fostering a positive organizational climate, including reducing officers’ skepticism about the agency’s capacity for positive change and ensuring supportive supervision and recognition.