The Procedural Justice Model

Police legitimacy is created when the public perceive the police to be effective and, more importantly,
fair. The legitimacy of the police is central to public willingness to cooperate with the police and not
break the law. The threat of punishment is not shown to have any influence on willingness to comply
with the police and the law. Perceptions of police legitimacy and personal morality (one’s sense of right
and wrong) are far more important.