Police-Citizen Relations in Nigeria: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Law-Abiding Behaviour (Palgrave's Critical Policing Studies)

This book offers an historical and contemporary analysis of policing and police-citizen relations in Nigeria, to understand why people co-operate (or don’t) with the police. It examines police legitimacy and the validity of procedural justice theory in a post-colonial African context where corruption, brutality and lack of accountability are not uncommon, to find more refined and alternative answers to the question of why people co-operate (or don’t) with the police. The history of policing in Nigeria is explored first and then procedural justice theory is tested through an extensive, cross-sectional survey of the public. One of the core findings is that citizens’ co-operation with the police is driven less by legitimacy but more by effectiveness considerations and “dull compulsion”, a concept akin to legal cynicism. This study represents one of the first attempts to test and understand “dull compulsion” and its relevance in this context. Overall, it develops the field by illustrating that that there are significant variations between contexts when addressing the influence of perceived procedural justice policing on perceptions of police legitimacy, and it explains the implications for policy makers. Foreword References Contents About the Author List of Tables 1: Introduction References 2: Understanding Legitimacy in Weber’s Perspectives and in Contemporary Society Legitimacy by Traditional Domination Legitimacy by Charismatic Domination Legitimacy by Legal-rational Domination References 3: Procedural Justice, Perceived Legitimacy, and Willingness to Cooperate with the Police Legitimacy, Normative Issues, and Cooperation with Police Africa in Context: Tradition, Colonialism, and Popular Discontent Method Data and Participants Measures Cooperation with Police Police Legitimacy Procedural Justice Police Effectiveness Predatory Policing Police Corruption Police Colonial Origin Results Hierarchical Multiple Regression Predicting Police Legitimacy Predicting Cooperation with Police Discussion Conclusion References 4: Can Procedural Justice Nurture Young People’s Perceptions of Police Legitimacy? Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice Legitimacy and Police Corruption in Nigeria Youth and Procedural Justice Policing The Research Context Method Research Site Procedure Participants Measures Police Legitimacy Procedural Justice Police Effectiveness Police Corruption Delinquency Moral Neutralization Experience with Police Political Cynicism Demographic Variables Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies Results Bivariate Correlations Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses Discussion Conclusion References 5: Use of Force, Corruption, and Implication for Trust in the Police The Socio-legal Complexities of Police Use of Force Use of Force and the Negative Effects on Trust in the Police Method and Data Measures Factor Analysis of Constructs Results Bivariate Correlation Hierarchical Multiple Regression Discussion Conclusion References 6: Procedural (In)justice, Police Abuse of Power, and Public Cynicism about the Law The Police and Policing in Nigeria Abuse of Power, Corruption, and Cynicism about the Law Method and Data Measures Cynicism Towards the Law Police Corruption Experiences of Police Abuse Perceptions of Police Abuse Procedural Justice Results Bivariate Correlation Hierarchical Multiple Regression Discussion Conclusion References 7: Why Do Nigerians Comply with the Law? Assessing the Intersection between Dull Compulsion, Perceived Legitimacy, and Compliance with the Law The Policing Trajectory and Popular Discontent in the Nigerian Context Legitimacy, Dull Compulsion, and Compliance with the Law Method Data and Participants Measures Compliance with the Law Police Legitimacy Dull Compulsion Procedural Justice Police Effectiveness Demographic and Control Variables Principal Component Analysis of Constructs Results Multiple Regression Analyses Discussion Conclusion Appendix 1 References 8: Public Satisfaction with the Police: A Study of Normative Expectations, Procedural Justice, and Treatment Outcome in Nigeria Social Norms, Normative Expectations of the Police, and Social Order Maintenance Satisfaction with Police, Treatment Outcomes, and Procedural Justice Method and Data Measures Results Bivariate Correlation Multiple Regression Discussion Conclusion References 9: Predatory Policing, Police Abuse, and Implications for Trust and Cooperation with Police Predatory Policing, Police Abuse, and Law-Abiding Behaviour in Nigeria Police Abuse, Issues of Trust, and Cooperation with the Police Research Site and Policing in Nigeria Data and Methods Measures Results Bivariate Analysis Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses Trust in Police Cooperation with Police Discussion and Conclusion References 10: Conclusion References Index