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    Why do people comply with the law? Legitimacy and the influence of legal institutions

    Jackson, J. and Bradford, B. and Hough, Mike and Myhill, A. and Quinton, P. and Tyler, T.R. (2012) Why do people comply with the law? Legitimacy and the influence of legal institutions. British Journal of Criminology 52 (6), pp. 1051-1071. ISSN 0007-0955.

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    Abstract

    This paper extends Tyler’s procedural justice model of public compliance with the law. Analysing data from a national probability sample of adults in England and Wales, we present a new conceptualization of legitimacy based on not just the recognition of power, but also the justification of power. We find that people accept the police’s right to dictate appropriate behaviour not only when they feel a duty to obey officers, but also when they believe that the institution acts according to a shared moral purpose with citizens. Highlighting a number of different routes by which institutions can influence citizen behaviour, our broader normative model provides a better framework for explaining why people are willing to comply with the law.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): public confidence, public contact with the police, trust, legitimacy, compliance, policing by consent
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Crime & Justice Policy Research, Institute for
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 21 Aug 2012 14:06
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 16:58
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/5041

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