Fairness, function, and belonging: what shapes police legitimacy in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Police legitimacy is essential for fostering public cooperation, compliance, and trust in democratic policing. This study provides the first empirical test of Procedural Justice Theory in Aotearoa New Zealand. Using survey data from a non-representative sample of 766 adults (comprising 79% university students), we examine whether perceptions of procedural justice or police effectiveness are more strongly associated with two dimensions of police legitimacy (normative alignment and duty to obey), whether these associations are consistent across demographic groups, and whether social identity mediates these relationships. Consistent with findings from other Western democracies, procedural justice was more strongly associated with legitimacy than instrumental concerns. However, these effects were not fully invariant: for Māori and Pacific respondents, procedural justice was less strongly associated – and police effectiveness more strongly associated – with duty to obey. Structural equation modelling further showed that stronger identification with both the police and the New Zealand community partially accounted for the link between procedural justice and legitimacy. Together, the findings suggest that while procedural fairness is foundational to police legitimacy in Aotearoa New Zealand, it may be insufficient for all communities; for Māori and Pacific communities, in particular, building legitimacy may require active engagement with the historical and structural conditions that procedural justice alone cannot overcome.