The making of police self-legitimacy: External and organizational mechanisms

Although research on police self-legitimacy has expanded considerably over the past decade, consensus on its sources remains limited. Drawing on surveys of 458 frontline police officers in Seoul, South Korea, the current study examined two pathways shaping police self-legitimacy: (1) the direct association between external and organizational factors and self-assessed legitimacy, and (2) the indirect association between external factors and self-assessed legitimacy via perceived audience legitimacy. The results indicated that organizational factors, such as organizational justice and cynicism toward organizational change, were directly associated with self-assessed legitimacy. However, external factors (i.e., citizen incivility, perceived public disrespect, perceived crime trends) were indirectly associated with self-assessed legitimacy via perceived audience legitimacy. These findings provide insights into how police self-legitimacy develops or erodes.