Willingness to cooperate with police: A population-based study of Australian young adult illicit stimulant users
| Published date | 01 July 2017 |
| Date | 01 July 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895816671382 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895816671382
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2017, Vol. 17(3) 301 –318
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895816671382
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Willingness to cooperate with
police: A population-based
study of Australian young
adult illicit stimulant users
Ellen M Leslie
The University of Queensland, Australia
Adrian Cherney
The University of Queensland, Australia
Andrew Smirnov
The University of Queensland, Australia
Helene Wells
Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Australia; Crime and Misconduct Commission,
Queensland, Australia
Robert Kemp
Department of Health, Queensland, Australia
Jake M Najman
The University of Queensland, Australia
Abstract
While procedural justice has been highlighted as a key strategy for promoting cooperation with
police, little is known about this model’s applicability to subgroups engaged in illegal behaviour,
such as illicit drug users. This study compares willingness to cooperate with police and belief
Corresponding author:
Ellen M Leslie, Queensland Alcohol and Drug Research and Education Centre, School of Public Health,
Public Health Building, The University of Queensland, Herston Rd, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia.
Email: e.leslie1@uq.edu.au
671382CRJ0010.1177/1748895816671382Criminology & Criminal JusticeLeslie et al.
research-article2016
Article
302 Criminology & Criminal Justice 17(3)
in police legitimacy, procedural justice and law legitimacy among a population-based sample of
Australian young adult amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS; i.e. ecstasy and methamphetamine)
users and non-users. We then examine predictors of willingness to cooperate among ATS users.
ATS users were significantly less willing to cooperate with police and had significantly lower
perceptions of police legitimacy, procedural justice and law legitimacy, compared to non-users.
However, belief in police legitimacy independently predicted willingness to cooperate among ATS
users. We set out to discuss the implications of these findings for policing, including the role of
procedural justice in helping police deliver harm reduction strategies.
Keywords
Cooperation with police, ecstasy (MDMA), methamphetamine, procedural justice, young adult
Introduction
Effective policing is largely reliant on voluntary cooperation from the public (Murphy,
2009). Procedural justice-based policing has been highlighted as a key mechanism for
promoting compliance, cooperation and satisfaction with police (Mazerolle et al.,
2013). Lind and Tyler’s (1988) group value model (GVM) provides a theoretical con-
nection between procedural justice and willingness to cooperate with police, propos-
ing that procedurally fair treatment promotes cooperation with police through
conveying to individuals that they are valued members of society. Social identity
plays a central role in the GVM, which proposes that individuals who identify with
and value their position within mainstream society place greater importance on the
fairness of police procedures and decisions than individuals perceived to be outside
of mainstream society (Tyler, 2006). However, little is known about the applicability
of procedural justice and the GVM among subgroups that engage in deviant or illegal
behaviour, such as illicit drug users. In this article, we set out to explore this issue by
examining the impact of procedural justice and police legitimacy on willingness to
cooperate with police among a population-based sample of young Australians who
use drugs. Before discussing our study and the results, we situate this research in the
broader literature.
Legal socialization and engagement in deviant and illegal behaviour
Legal socialization refers to the process of developing attitudes and perceptions regard-
ing legal authorities, institutions and the law. This process begins in childhood and con-
tinues through adolescence and into adulthood (Reisig et al., 2011). Fagan and Tyler
(2005) propose that there are three key dimensions of legal socialization: (1) institutional
legitimacy (accepting the rules and decisions of legal institutions and actors); (2) legal
cynicism (perceptions of the legitimacy of the law and social norms); and (3) moral
ambiguity (separating moral standards from conduct to justify deviant actions).
Adolescents and young adults who engage with and accept deviant subcultures, such as
drug-use subcultures, have been found to have less favourable attitudes towards police
(Jang et al., 2010; Schuck, 2013). Additionally, research in democratic nations suggests
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