An Examination of Police Officers’ Self-Legitimacy: A Comparative Study in Slovenia

Police (self-)legitimacy is dialogical in nature and influenced by social contexts. In this comparative study, conducted on a national sample of 1,380 police officers in Slovenia, collected over three periods, the stability of police officers’ self-legitimacy and its antecedents are tested. The regression models revealed differences in self-legitimacy and its antecedents across periods, supporting the thesis of the unstable nature of police self-legitimacy. The importance of police officers’ relations with colleagues for the perception of their own legitimacy increased over the years, while their perception of supervisors’ fairness and audience legitimacy decreased. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of social context on police officers’ self-legitimacy and the complex nature of police legitimacy.