The Path from Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy to Compliance and Cooperation in the Context of Terrorism in Multiculturally Diverse Student Population in the Netherlands

An expanding body of research consistently reinforces Tyler's two-stage-based self-regulatory theory of procedural justice. This study makes two significant contributions to the literature on Tyler's model. First, it examines the relationship between procedural justice, legitimacy, and cooperation with police and explores whether perceptions of legitimacy have a mediation effect in this model. Second, it attempts to understand whether the model predicts the cooperation and reporting behavior of individuals in terrorism-related cases. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of data linking procedural justice to public trust and cooperation, collected from (N = 267) university students in The Hague, results align with Tyler's model, indicating a significant positive relationship between police legitimacy and willingness to cooperate with police and report terrorism-related incidents. Procedural justice indirectly affects both variables through legitimacy. Furthermore, age and prior contact with the police influence perceptions of legitimacy and cooperation. The findings underscore the importance of police legitimacy in fostering trust and cooperation with law enforcement, particularly in multicultural societies. This study advocates for targeted resource allocation within police departments. By prioritizing initiatives that enhance procedural justice, departments can cultivate stronger legitimacy and encourage cooperation and proactive reporting of terrorism-related cases.