Mock juror decision-making in a self-defence trial involving police use of force.

What is it about?

People's perceptions of police legitimacy are related to how they view officers' use of force. We have shown that this translates to the jury context -- prospective jurors watching a videotaped mock trial involving a use of force scenario made verdict decisions that corresponded with their perceptions of police legitimacy. The more legitimate that mock jurors perceived the police to be generally, the more likely they were to find a defendant guilty of murdering a police officer rather than accepting his claim of self-defence in response to the officer's use of force.

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Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash

Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash

Why is it important?

These results underscore police legitimacy’s importance in community-police relations.