Authors : Dr. John Motsamai Modise

Volume/Issue : Volume 8 - 2023, Issue 4 - April

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/mr2676wf

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/46vc5p6j

DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10060204

Abstract : The article contends that effective policing techniques should be employed simultaneously with the application of social capital, legitimacy, and trust in the police in order to strengthen police community relations. Research that demonstrated the existence of trust- building in police relationships and the efficacy of different strategies is used to support the thesis. Having positive relationships with the community they serve is said to increase a police department's effectiveness in reducing crime and disorder. Public support for the police is significantly influenced by the legitimacy of the organization. Enhancing police efforts to maintain peace, provide public safety, and battle crime depends greatly on public faith in community policing. Corruption and social unrest are bred by broken relationships between a community and the police. According to Tyler (2006), the effectiveness of law enforcement and other authorities is determined on how people perceive their intentions when they interact with people. This is what Tyler and Huo (2002: 61) refer to as "inferences about the intentions behind actions, intentions that flow from a person's unobservable motivations and character." Trust has a special relationship to citizens' perceptions of police legitimacy, plays a role in the effectiveness of law enforcement, and is frequently associated to emotions of safety (Goldsmith, 2005). Although it is crucial, faith in the police is complicated and readily betrayed (Goldsmith, 2005). The truth is that "its extent and very existence depends upon a range of factors both within and outside police control" (Goldsmith, 2005: 444). Overall, civilians give tremendous weight to understanding the officer's sincere intentions during unavoidable confrontations (Tyler, 2005; Tyler & Huo, 2002). Numerous academics have emphasized the significance of authorities' legitimacy in winning the public's support for their policies and regulations (Tyler, 1997; Weber, 1968). According to Sunshine & Tyler (2003:514), legitimacy is "a property of an authority or institution that leads people to feel that that authority or institution is entitled to be deferred to and obeyed." Scholars have recognized that legitimacy is a feature that is not merely instrumental in nature but rather represents a social value orientation toward authority and institutions since the classic writings of Weber (1968). That is, rather than out of fear of punishment for disobedience, individuals defer to and obey an official direction or instruction issued by legitimate institutions because they respect (and accept) the institution's right to make those decisions.

Keywords : Community Relations, Community Involvement, Public Trust in the Police, Police Effectiveness, Procedural Justice, Police–Community Relationship, Legitimacy; Policing; Social Capital.