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Legal cynicism is a domain of legal socialization defined by a perception that the legal system and law enforcement agents are "illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill equipped to ensure public safety." [1] [2] It is related to police legitimacy, and the two serve as important ways for researchers to study citizens' perceptions of law enforcement. [3]
Sampson and Bartusch (1998) defined legal cynicism as "" anomie" about law". [4] Based on Sampson & Bartusch's work, and on that of Leo Srole, [5] Piquero et al. (2005) defined it based on respondents' answers to a five-question survey. In the survey, respondents were asked to rank, on a four-point scale, the extent to which they agreed with each of these statements:
- Laws are meant to be broken,
- It is okay to do anything you want,
- There are no right or wrong ways to make money,
- If I have a fight with someone, it is no one else's business, and
- A person has to live without thinking about the future. [6]
Legal cynicism can be exacerbated when police engage in aggressive misconduct in a community, which can lead to greater violence and less cooperation between the community's citizens and the police. [7] It has been found to be higher in neighborhoods with higher levels of concentrated disadvantage, even after controlling for demographic factors and crime rates. [4] The strongest predictor of legal cynicism is self-reported delinquency. [8]
Legal cynicism and legitimacy both have significant effects on criminal offending, even after accounting for self-control. [2] Legal cynicism is also associated with lower rates of desistance from intimate partner violence, [9] higher homicide rates, [10] and higher recidivism rates among released prisoners. [11] It has also been found to affect parents' assessments of their adolescent children's violent behavior. [12]
Part of a series on |
Sociology |
---|
Legal cynicism is a domain of legal socialization defined by a perception that the legal system and law enforcement agents are "illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill equipped to ensure public safety." [1] [2] It is related to police legitimacy, and the two serve as important ways for researchers to study citizens' perceptions of law enforcement. [3]
Sampson and Bartusch (1998) defined legal cynicism as "" anomie" about law". [4] Based on Sampson & Bartusch's work, and on that of Leo Srole, [5] Piquero et al. (2005) defined it based on respondents' answers to a five-question survey. In the survey, respondents were asked to rank, on a four-point scale, the extent to which they agreed with each of these statements:
- Laws are meant to be broken,
- It is okay to do anything you want,
- There are no right or wrong ways to make money,
- If I have a fight with someone, it is no one else's business, and
- A person has to live without thinking about the future. [6]
Legal cynicism can be exacerbated when police engage in aggressive misconduct in a community, which can lead to greater violence and less cooperation between the community's citizens and the police. [7] It has been found to be higher in neighborhoods with higher levels of concentrated disadvantage, even after controlling for demographic factors and crime rates. [4] The strongest predictor of legal cynicism is self-reported delinquency. [8]
Legal cynicism and legitimacy both have significant effects on criminal offending, even after accounting for self-control. [2] Legal cynicism is also associated with lower rates of desistance from intimate partner violence, [9] higher homicide rates, [10] and higher recidivism rates among released prisoners. [11] It has also been found to affect parents' assessments of their adolescent children's violent behavior. [12]