Procedural justice, police legitimacy, and legal cynicism: a test for mediation effects

The procedural justice theory of police legitimacy has yet to fully consider the potential impacts of legal cynicism. The present study tests the hypothesis that cynicism mediates the justice–legitimacy relationship. Results of structural equation models support partial mediation. Procedural justice significantly reduced cynicism, while declines in cynicism promoted legitimacy. Cynicism should be incorporated into the theory of procedural justice and related empirical tests. Implications for police policy include the important role that process-based fairness plays in helping promote positive attitudes not merely toward police but toward society in general.