The book explores police legitimacy and crime control with a focus on the European region.
Using comparative case studies the contributions to this timely volume examine the effects of
a transition to democracy on policing public attitudes towards police legitimacy and the ways
in which perceptions of police legitimacy relate to compliance with the law. Following these
case studies the authors provide recommendations for improving police legitimacy and
controlling crime in these particular sociopolitical environments where the police are often
associated with previous military or paramilitary roles. The techniques used by these
researchers may be applied to studies for policing in other regions with potential
applications within Europe and beyond. Chapters present topical issues of crime crime control
and human emotions regarding crime criminals law enforcement and punishment in contemporary
societies. This book will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice as
well as political science and public policy. This book is highly recommended for anyone
interested in procedural justice and legitimacy encounters between citizens and the state the
effectiveness of governmental institutions and democratic development. It stands alone in its
broad cross-national contributions to understanding these issues. -Wesley G. Skogan PhD
Professor of Political Science Northwestern University Chicago IL USA
