ABSTRACT

Researchers have recently started exploring the antecedents and outcomes of police officers’ confidence in their own authority, a concept termed self-legitimacy. Investigation into officer self-legitimacy is relatively new, but it has been linked to a number of desirable behaviors, including organizational commitment and democratic policing styles. The current study examined the relationships between officer self-legitimacy, employee engagement, and civic engagement. Such associations are important because greater employee engagement is associated with higher motivation and better work performance. Civic engagement, in particular, may be critical for effective policing. These relationships were investigated using survey data from four police departments in Arkansas and Oklahoma (N = 132). Results from multivariate models revealed officers with greater self-legitimacy reported more employee engagement and attitudes supportive of civic engagement. In combination with existing literature, findings underscore the likelihood that maintaining police self-legitimacy is associated with additional benefits for officers, organizations, and communities.

摘要

研究人员最近开始探索警察对自己权威的信心的前因和后果，这一概念被称为自我合法性。对官员自我合法性的调查相对较新，但它与许多可取的行为有关，包括组织承诺和民主警务风格。目前的研究考察了官员自我合法性、员工敬业度和公民敬业度之间的关系。这种关联很重要，因为更高的员工敬业度与更高的动力和更好的工作绩效相关。尤其是公民参与可能对有效的治安至关重要。这些关系是使用来自阿肯色州和俄克拉荷马州四个警察部门的调查数据进行调查的（N= 132)。多元模型的结果显示，具有更高自我合法性的官员报告了更多的员工敬业度和支持公民参与的态度。结合现有文献，研究结果强调了维持警察自我合法性与为警察、组织和社区带来额外利益的可能性。