Police Perceptions and Rule Rejections By: Chad Roberge Advisors: Ellen S. Cohn, Ph.D. & Alexander Blandina, M.A. Hypothesis Results Discussion Method Introduction Different factors lead to rule-violating behaviors in adolescents, one of which is a weakening of conventional beliefs 1. ○ Rule-violating behaviors (RVB) – RVB are any antisocial behaviors including delinquent acts (Ex. Getting in a fight, stealing, or lying to a parent). ○ Conventional belief – Any belief that is widely held amongst most people (Ex. People shouldn’t break the law). Rule-violating behaviors in juveniles have been linked with adverse attitudes towards authority figures and the criminal legal system 1,2. ○ Attitudes towards the criminal legal system (ATCLS) - The extent of respondent’s positive attitudes towards the criminal legal system. The current research aims to see if the relation between attitudes towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating behavior is affected by another factor, police legitimacy. ○ Police Legitimacy - A respondent’s positive or negative perception of law enforcement and its right to exercise authority over them 3,5. People who judge police as legitimate figures are more likely to cooperate with them and have fewer rule-violating behavior 4. Prior research has not examined the relation between ATCLS and RVB with the mediating factor of police legitimacy. ●Hypothesis: Police legitimacy will mediate the relationship between attitudes towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating behavior. References 1 Menard, S., & Huizinga, D. (1994). Changes in conventional attitudes and delinquent behavior in adolescence. Youth & Society, 26(1), Martin, T. A., & Cohn, E. S. (2004). Attitudes toward the criminal legal system: Scale development and predictors. Psychology, Crime and Law, 10(4), Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003). The role of procedural justice and legitimacy in shaping public support for policing. Law & Society Review, 37(3), doi: / Tyler, T. R. (2004). Enhancing police legitimacy. The annals of the American academy of political and social science, 593(1), Wolpin, K. (1983). The national longitudinal handbook: Columbus, Ohio: Center for Human Resources Research, Ohio State University. For more information: The data supported the hypothesis that police legitimacy will mediate the relation between attitudes towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating behavior. ○ ATCLS was initially negatively correlated with RVB. ○ ATCLS was positively correlated with police legitimacy. ○ Police legitimacy was negatively correlated with RVB, which made the initial relationship between ATCLS and RVB no longer significant. The relation between the attitudes juveniles have towards the criminal legal system and rule-violating behavior is affected by their feelings towards police legitimacy. Implications This research confirms the previous findings that the weakening of conventional beliefs towards the law leads to increased rule-violating behavior 1. Police officers involved with guiding the behavior of juveniles should take this information into account when trying to prevent rule-violating behavior. The direct and indirect interactions between police officers and juveniles have a large impact on the attitudes juveniles develop, and officers should be clear and understanding in these situations. Law enforcement officials should work to establish positive relationships with juveniles in their communities to improve their attitudes towards the legal system; one example of this would be increasing police involvement in community events. Limitations and Future Directions Data was collected from schools in the New England area only. ○ Future studies should examine subjects from areas around the country. Self-reporting was used, which could have led to some questions being misunderstood by subjects, or subjects could have provided false information. ○ Future studies should involve direct questioning of subjects to gain results that are clear and as accurate as possible. Follow-up research should examine other mediating factors that could affect the relationship between ATCLS and RVB. ○ For example, involvement with bullying, attitudes towards parents, and socio-economic status. These factors could affect the relationship between ATCLS and RVB in ways different than police legitimacy. Participants 388 participants, 42.7% male, 57.3% female 84.2% White T1 (Spring 2010) Age M = (SD = 1.64) Subjects gathered over 3 years from the NHYS, an ongoing longitudinal study examining different factors believed to influence adolescent delinquency Measures ATCLS (M= 3.31,SD=.52) 2 ○ “Most of our laws are fair and just.” (4 point Likert scale, 1= Strongly Disagree, 4= Strongly Agree) ○ T1 (Spring 2010) Police legitimacy (M= 2.79,SD=.44) 3 ○ “Police can be trusted to make decisions that are right.” (4 point Likert scale, 1= Strongly Disagree, 4=Strongly Agree) ○ T2 (Fall 2011-Spring 2012) RVB (M= 2.03, SD= 2.76) 5 ○ Dichotomous frequency based score ○ “In the past 6 months, how many times have you… skipped a full day of school without a real excuse?” ○ T3 (Spring 2014) Procedure Subjects completed 10 surveys over 7 years for the NHYS (New Hampshire Youth Study). The following 3 waves of data were used: T1 (Spring 2010), T2 (Spring 2012), T3 (Spring 2014). Data was collected online; participants were given a $20 gift card as compensation. ATCLS Police Legitimacy RVB.23*** -.15*** -.10 (-.11*) R² =.03, F(2, 385)= 6.52, p <.01 *p ≤.05 **p ≤.01 *** p ≤.001 Standardized Beta Coefficients for the hypothesized model ATCLSPolice LegitimacyRVB ATCLS1.229**-.168** Police Legitimacy.229**1-.154*** RVB-.168**-.154***1 Correlations between measured variables