Research on public trust and police legitimacy: where next, and why?

Public trust in policing and the legitimacy police command are critical issues for law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and researchers worldwide. Trust and legitimacy matter for police and policed: the former depend on public cooperation for effective functioning, while the latter rely on police for safety and problem resolution. In this article I briefly review existing research on the antecedents and consequents of trust and legitimacy before going on to consider gaps in the current evidence base. These include conceptual clarity and consistent measurement of key constructs, the need to consider antecedents of trust and legitimacy beyond procedural justice, a relative death of longitudinal studies, and a similar lack of studies exploring trust and legitimacy in the digital era. There is also a need for methodological innovation, greater engagement with community perspectives, and development of implementation strategies to translate research into practice.