Predicting police contact: Exploring the impact of legal cynicism on residents’ willingness to contact the police

Abstract

Research on legal cynicism – the perception that the law and law enforcement officers are illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped – reveals a complex and heavily nuanced relationship between civilians’ perceptions of the police and their engagement with police services. While legal cynicism is said to reduce civilian crime reporting, it has not always been shown to dissuade civilians from contacting the police for help. Drawing upon data from the United States 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey, this study establishes legal cynicism as a facet of residents’ cultural repertories about the law and the legal system (i.e., a ‘toolkit’ residents draw on to guide their behaviour). Legal cynicism predisposes an unwillingness to contact the police for help in the future. This study grounds past scholarship by utilizing a specific measure for the three facets of legal cynicism, offers critical insight into the evolution of legal cynicism, and argues for practitioners to expand upon procedural justice strategies to improve police-community relations.

Keywords

Legal cynicism police cultural repertoires resident-initiated police contact police-community relations procedural justice

Introduction

High-profile cases of police violence, such as the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, have raised concern about declining reliance on law enforcement due to legal cynicism – the perception that the law and law enforcement officers are illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped to keep communities safe (Ang et al., 2025; Desmond et al., 2016, 2020; Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011). However, research has produced contrasting evidence regarding legal cynicism’s impact on resident-initiated contact with the police. While legal cynicism has been shown to reduce crime reporting and 911 call volumes in general (Ang et al., 2025; Desmond et al., 2016, 2020), not all legal cynics will refrain from calling the police in times of crisis (Bell 2016; Hagan et al., 2018). Understanding what shapes individuals’ willingness to initiate contact with the police is vital because the fear or unwillingness to call undermines contemporary crime prevention strategies and increases residents’ risk of victimization, thereby eroding community safety (Anderson 1999; Couture-Carron et al., 2022; Desmond et al., 2016; Hagan et al., 2018; Kirk and Matsuda 2011). For example, Brunson and Wade (2019) document individuals who refused to call police when threatened with gun violence due to high levels of legal cynicism.

Further research is needed to unpack the cultural dimensions of legal cynicism, particularly how it shapes decisions to initiate contact with the police. Group-level understandings of human experience are critical for understanding human action, such as resident-initiated police contact (Bell 2016; Swidler 1986). Collective interpretations comprise sociologists’ explorations of ‘culture’ – frameworks through which people make sense of and navigate the world (Bell 2016; Campeau et al., 2021; Swidler 1986; Vaisey 2009). Cultural repertoires serve ‘as a “bag of tricks” that people draw from [to] guide their actions’ (Bell 2016: 316-317), allowing for various strategies or course trajectories (e.g., deciding whether to contact the police for help). Legal cynicism is part of a broader cultural repertoire about the law and the legal system (Bell 2016).

Building on this cultural framework, this study shifts away from studying legal cynicism through observed behaviours (i.e., crime reporting) (Desmond et al., 2016, 2020) and special cases of continued reliance on the police (Bell 2016; Brunson and Wade 2019; Carr et al., 2007; Hagan et al., 2018), and towards an analysis of resident perceptions. This decision was strategic; to best understand the impact of legal cynicism on resident-initiated contact with the police, an investigation into the impact of legal cynicism on residents’ willingness to contact the police is first warranted. This study explores the cultural dimension of legal cynicism by testing whether perceptions of the police as illegitimate, unresponsive, and/or ill-equipped predict an unwillingness to contact the police for help in the future. At a macro-level, this study demonstrates that legal cynicism regulates residents’ willingness to contact the police for help; adherence to any (and all) legally cynical values predicts less willingness to contact the police for help in the future.

To develop my analysis, I provide a history of legal cynicism, including foundational research, conceptual shifts, and recent insights, before detailing my conscious research design. Drawing upon data from the United States 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), I explain how this study grounds other legal cynicism research by establishing a specific measure for each of the three facets of legal cynicism (something lacking in past scholarship). I then present my findings and discuss the implications of legal cynicism operating as a facet of the cultural repertoire residents draw on to navigate their engagement with law enforcement. I end with practical recommendations for practitioners seeking to counteract legal cynicism and calls for future research.

Legal cynicism

Introduced by Sampson and Bartusch (1998: 782), legal cynicism was initially understood as anomie about law, ‘a state of normlessness in which the rules of the dominant society (and hence the legal system) are no longer binding in a community.’ Building upon the work of Durkheim (1893), legal cynicism was used to explain individuals’ adaption to neighbourhood disadvantage (i.e., structural conditions such as poverty) (Sampson and Bartusch 1998). This conceptualization is inherently broad, tapping into neighbourhood-level motivations that foster beliefs and behaviours outside of the law, but doing little to separate cynical perceptions of the justice system from general beliefs about broader social values. It was not until Kirk and Papachristos (2011) that legal cynicism theory was narrowed to focus specifically on perceptions of the legal system (see also Kirk and Matsuda 2011). Drawing on the work of Goffman (1974), Kirk and Papachristos (2011: 1191) posit legal cynicism as a cultural frame, an ‘orientation in which the law and the agents of its enforcement, such as the police and courts, are viewed as illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped to ensure public safety.’ From this perspective, legal cynicism is understood as a product of personal experience and social interaction, a cultural orientation fostered by neighbourhood structural conditions and neighbourhood variations in police practices (Kirk and Papachristos 2011).

Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage fosters legal cynicism by restricting residents’ opportunities for upward mobility and influence over power structures (Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998). Socio-economic conditions operate above and beyond socio-demographic characteristics to breed cynicism towards societal institutions. Consequently, racialized and economically disadvantaged groups have been routinely associated with higher rates of legal cynicism (Bell 2016; Campeau et al., 2021; Desmond et al., 2016; Hagan et al., 2018; Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998). Neighbourhoods with concentrated prisoner re-entry have also been associated with higher levels of legal cynicism (Kirk 2016). However, immigrant communities tend to be less cynical of law enforcement than other neighbourhoods (Kirk et al., 2012).

Neighbourhood variations in policing practices and residents’ negative interactions with the police encompass another major source of legal cynicism (Kirk and Papachristos 2011). Police are the most visible and palpable symbol of the law, thus, how they behave and engage with community members shapes individuals’ perceptions of the legal system (Ben-Menachem and Torrats-Espinosa 2024; Gau 2015; Hough et al., 2010; Sierra-Arévalo 2016). Adults and children alike report greater levels of legal cynicism when they view police as unjust and harsh (Fagan and Tyler 2005; Hofer et al., 2020; Kirk 2016; Kirk et al., 2012). Police violence, harassment, and insufficient and ineffective crime control practices can establish a sense of antagonism and hostility directed towards agents of the law, even if individuals agree with the general substance of the law (Campeau et al., 2021; Kirk and Papachristos 2011) and/or ‘personally condemn acts of deviance and violence’ (Sampson and Bartusch 1998: 801). For example, 2020 ‘Defund the Police’ protests following the police murder of George Floyd were rife with cynicism about police institutions, yet scholars show that support for defunding the police is not necessarily a call to abandon law enforcement altogether (Cobbina-Dungy et al., 2022; Craig and Reid, 2022; Hunter et al., 2024).

Aligning with Kirk and Papachristos’ (2011) understanding of legal cynicism has three key implications. First, the conceptualization of legal cynicism as a cultural frame proposes a ‘constraint-and-possibility’ relationship. Rather than declaring that legal cynicism causes specific behaviours (e.g., violence), Kirk and Papachristos (2011) argue that legal cynicism makes certain behaviours more possible or likely (see also Lamont and Small 2008). Second, legal cynicism is not merely adaptive, it is also relational. Perceptions of the law are reinforced and sustained through neighbourhood social interaction independent of neighbourhood structural conditions; once legal cynicism becomes engrained in a culture, its influence may operate independently of structural conditions (Kirk and Papachristos 2011). Third, Kirk and Papachristos’ (2011) focus on the consequences of legal cynicism (as opposed to its sources) has pushed researchers to move beyond studying the root causes of legal cynicism and focus more on what happens when individuals are distrusting, disengaging, and/or suspicious of the law and law enforcement actors (Campeau et al., 2021).

Since this shift, scholars have integrated legal cynicism theory to explain system avoidance and neighbourhood reliance on street codes and self-protective behaviours (Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Midgette and Lafree 2025; Sendroiu et al., 2022), criminal offending and high crime rates (Bell 2016; Reisig et al., 2011), a lack of compliance with the law and law enforcement actors (Kirk and Matsuda 2011), and even increased homicide and teen pregnancy rates (Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Sampson, 2012, as cited in Bell 2016). Other work has also identified a link between legal cynicism and gun ownership (Sierra-Arévalo 2016). Of particular interest to this study, however, is the growing area of literature investigating the relationship between legal cynicism and resident-initiated police contact.

Quantitative research in this area typically analyses 911 call patterns. Desmond et al. (2016, 2020) found a significant and durable decrease in crime reporting in racialized neighbourhoods, attributing a net loss of roughly 22,200 911 calls in Milwaukee to legal cynicism following the local police beating of Frank Jude in 2005. Coupled with a rise in gunshots, a sharp decline in 911 calls was similarly observed after Floyd’s 2020 murder in Minneapolis, this time across 13 major American cities (Ang et al., 2025). While Drolc and Shoub (2024) observe no decrease in calls for service (i.e., 911 calls) following police violence in Los Angeles, they do capture a negative impact on 311 (non-emergency call) requests. While direct exposure to negative police contact (e.g., harsh language and frisking) is associated with higher levels of legal cynicism (Hofer et al., 2020), call pattern analyses demonstrate that even vicarious exposure to negative police interactions undermines police legitimacy, fosters legal cynicism, and decreases resident-initiated engagement with legal services. However, analyzing 911 calls provides limited insight into underlying community trust and belief in law enforcement (Ben-Menachem and Torrats-Espinosa 2024).

Qualitative scholars have identified critical and complex nuances that inform perceptions of and engagement with law enforcement. Hagan et al. (2018) establish that, in the absence of quality alternatives, racialized neighbourhoods will continue to call the police despite high levels of legal cynicism and distrust in the police. Bell (2016) highlights four cases of situational trust – officer exceptionalism, domain specificity, therapeutic consequence-seeking and institutional navigation – wherein racialized individuals are willing to engage with law enforcement despite high levels of legal cynicism. Campeau et al. (2021) show that individuals’ perceptions of the legal system may be underwritten with a general belief in the importance of the law, even when residents report high levels of distrust and cynicism in law enforcement actors. Moreover, Carr et al. (2007) similarly captured a simultaneous distrust in and the promotion of police among youth in high-crime neighbourhoods. Altogether, this research suggests a ‘complex, contradictory, and ambivalent’ (Bell 2016: 321) relationship between civilians’ perceptions of police and their actual engagement with police services, which necessitates further investigation.

While existing research exploring the relationship between legal cynicism and resident-initiated contact with the police suggests that legal cynicism regulates residents’ willingness to contact the police, this conclusion requires empirical testing. Does legal cynicism predict an unwillingness to contact the police? This study demonstrates that when residents with recent police contact perceive the police as illegitimate (i.e., biased), unresponsive, and/or ill-equipped (i.e., unable to improve situations), they are less willing to contact the police in the future. While talk does not necessarily equate to action (Bell 2016), residents will draw on this disposition towards contacting the police to decide their course of action in given scenarios. These findings align with existing research demonstrating that personal exposure to adverse police conduct reduces residents’ willingness to contact the police due to legal cynicism (Brunson 2007; Carr et al., 2007); law enforcement strategies (i.e., police practices and behaviours) have the potential to undermine residents’ reliance on police services. The methods enabling these conclusions are described below.

Methods

This study uses data from the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS), which serves as a supplement to the 2020 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). While the NCVS collects national data on crimes against persons aged 12 and older, the PPCS is administered to NCVS respondents aged 16 and older; however, the sample used is 18 plus because youth were not asked about some of the items measured in this study. The 2020 PPCS used structured and computer-assisted interviews (telephone and in-person) administered between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2020, to ask respondents about their contact with police in the past 12 months. For access to the 2020 PPCS, see US-BJS 2022.

The 2020 PPCS captures a month of intense public criticism of law enforcement following the police murder of George Floyd (Cobbina-Dungy et al., 2022; XXXX). 20% of data was collected after Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020. Although 2020 PPCS data may be influenced by the cynicism of this time, exploring the impact of legal cynicism across America during a time of national outrage against police services (Ang et al., 2025; Cobbina-Dungy et al., 2022) provides a unique insight regarding the scope of legal cynicism.

The 2020 PPCS surveyed a total of 125,936 individuals, a vast majority of whom (89.08%) were aged 25 and older (see Table 1).¹ A slight majority of the participants identified as female (52.02%); all others identified as male (47.98%). Roughly 70% of participants identified as white, 13% as Hispanic/Latino, 10% as Black, 5% as Asian, and 2% as other or a mixed (non-Hispanic) race. Roughly 45% of participants had an income of $75,000 or more, and 37% had an income of $49,000 or less.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics.

	n	Mean	SD	Median	Min	Max
Age^a	125,936	3.704	1.018	4	1	5
Male (=1)^b	125,936	1.520	0.500	2	1	2
Income^c	125,936	3.082	0.902	3	2	4
Race^d	125,936	1.597	1.026	1	1	5
Legally cynicism (=1)^e	349	0.845	0.362	1	0	1
Perception of police contact
Biased (=1)^f	933	0.153	0.360	0	0	1
Unresponsive (=1)^g	9232	0.120	0.325	0	0	1
Unable to improve situation (=1)^h	7483	0.188	0.391	0	0	1
Less willing to contact police (=1)ⁱ	9342	0.050	0.219	0	0	1

^a16-17 years = 1, 18-24 years = 2, 25-44 years = 3, 45-64 years = 4, 65 years or more = 5.

^bFemale = 2.

^c$49,999 or less=2, $50,000-74,999=3, $75,000 or more = 4.

^dWhite = 1, Black = 2, Hispanic = 3, Asian = 4, non-Hispanic mixed or other = 5.

^eNo legal cynicism = 0.

^fNo bias = 0.

^gPrompt response = 0.

^hImproved situation = 0.

ⁱJust as or more willing to contact = 0.

Respondent demographics allow this study to gain insight into ever-evolving, complex, and volatile police-community relationships. Though past studies have argued that legal cynicism’s effect on civic life is durable only in Black communities (Desmond et al., 2016, 2020), this study demonstrates a relationship between legal cynicism and unwillingness to contact the police with a primarily white and middle- to upper-class (income of $50,000 or more) sample. These findings sustain the argument that the grip and breadth of legal cynicism can evolve over time and across demographics.

Research design

Making sound arguments in empirical social research requires careful measurement of the phenomena. Taking note from foundational legal cynicism scholarship (Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998), this study utilises a survey to data to gain insight into individuals’ perceptions of law enforcement. Survey data is valuable when studying legal cynicism because the questions can better unveil unconscious decision-making, more so than qualitative interviews (Hagan et al., 2020; Small 2018). Survey questions can elicit answers consistent with underlying cultural repertoires, even if respondents are unaware of why a certain answer appears most desirable (Vaisey 2009). Where this study diverges from past work concerns the operationalization of legal cynicism. Rather than focusing on residents’ feelings about violating the law (Hofer et al., 2020; Kirk 2016; Miller et al., 2024; Reisig et al., 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998), perceptions of the functioning or usefulness of the law (Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011), or beliefs about laws, politicians, and how the law advances welfare (Gau 2015; Kirk et al., 2012), this study is explores individuals’ adherence to the three facets of legal cynicism – perceptions of the police as (1) illegitimate, (2) unresponsive, and (3) ill-equipped to keep communities safe – following recent interactions with the police.

To capture respondents’ adherence to legally cynical values, this study draws upon three lines of PPCS questioning. Based on their recent contact with police, respondents indicated whether they believed that (1) police behaviours were motivated by bias or prejudice (i.e., related to the respondents’ race, gender or sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and/or disability),² (2) the police response was prompt (when resident-initiated), and (3) police improved the situation. Responses to questions 1-3 are dichotomous and were used to capture respondents’ adherence to three legally cynical values. Perceptions of police bias inform the belief that police are illegitimate (Madon et al., 2017); the perception that police are slow or fail to respond to resident calls for help informs the belief that police are unresponsive; the perception that police are unable to improve situations informs the belief that police are ill-equipped. These three variables were combined to generate an additional dichotomous variable capturing respondents’ adherence to legal cynicism; if respondents reported no police bias, a prompt police response, and that their situation improved, their response indicates no legal cynicism; if respondents reported police bias, a less than prompt police response, or that their situation did not improve, their response indicates legal cynicism. The dependent variable (DV) was created by drawing upon responses about the likelihood that respondents would contact the police for help in the future based on their recent interaction(s) with the police. Responses to this question were ordinal (i.e., ‘more,’ ‘just as,’ or ‘less likely’ to contact the police) but were dichotomized (i.e., ‘just as or more willing’ and ‘less willing’ to contact the police) to isolate respondents who indicate they were less likely to contact the police in the future. Altogether, these variables were used to answer the following research question. Does legal cynicism (i.e., perceptions of the police as illegitimate, unresponsive and/or ill-equipped) predict an unwillingness to contact the police?

Data analysis

To answer this research question, a two-staged statistical analysis was conducted using Stata software. Stage 1 used three chi-square tests to assess the relationship between respondents’ willingness to contact the police and the three legal cynicism measures: the perception that the police are (1) illegitimate (i.e., biased), (2) unresponsive (i.e., slow/no response when called for help), and (3) ill-equipped (i.e., unable to improve situations). This provides a preliminary comparison of the relational strength between the DV and IVs. Stage 2 used two logistic regression models to assess whether legal cynicism predicts an unwillingness to contact the police. Sample weights designed for the 2020 PPCS were applied to the logistic regressions to reduce the effects of non-responses and best ensure that model outputs represent the entire population.^3,4 Stages 2a and 2b employ the same control variables (age, race and ethnicity, gender, and income) but were conducted separately to avoid multicollinearity issues. Stage 2a tests if holding at least one legally cynical value predicts an unwillingness to contact the police in the future. Stage 2b tests whether perceptions that police are illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped can individually predict respondents’ unwillingness to contact the police. While Stage 2a′s multivariate model strengthens the results of Stage 1, Stage 2b expands the analysis by allowing for a comparison of the impact of the IVs. Stage 2b′s more rigorous logistic regression model allows for conclusions to be drawn about which legally cynical belief has the strongest impact (i.e., highest predictive capacity) on respondents’ unwillingness to contact the police. The results of Stages 1-2 are described in turn.

Results

Stage 1: Chi-square tests

Stage 1 bivariate analyses reveal statistically significant relationships between relative IVs and individuals’ willingness to contact the police in the future (see Table 2). The perception of police bias (p < .001), unresponsiveness (p < .001), and inability to improve situations (p < .001) are each significantly related to respondents’ willingness to contact the police. Comparing the chi-square results suggests that – without controlling for other factors – perceptions of police bias during recent police contacts have the strongest relationship with less willingness to contact the police (65.91%); only one-third (34.09%) of respondents who perceived bias were just as or more willing to contact the police in the future. Perceptions of the police as unresponsive and ill-equipped (i.e., unable to improve situations) share a nearly identical statistical relationship with individuals’ willingness to contact the police. Roughly 19% of respondents who reported that the police were unable to improve their situation and 19% who perceived the police response to their call for help as slow or non-existent, reported being less willing to contact the police in the future. While most respondents who perceived the police as unresponsive and ill-equipped reported just as or more willingness to contact police in the future (81%), these results were roughly 16% below those who reported prompt police responses and situation improvement after contacting police. While perceptions of the police as unresponsive and unable to improve situations do not have as strong a relationship with the DV compared to perceptions of police bias, these legally cynical beliefs do appear to reduce individuals’ willingness to contact the police.

Table 2.

Respondents’ willingness to contact the police in relation to their perceptions of the police during a recent contact with police.

	Willingness to contact police in the future (%)
	Just as or more likely	Less likely	p
Police legitimacy
No bias	63.28	36.72	<0.001
Police bias	34.09	65.91	<0.001
Police responsiveness
Prompt response	96.69	3.31	<0.001
Slow or no police response	81.03	18.97	<0.001
Police ability
Situation improved	97.51	2.49	<0.001
Situation did not improve	81.02	18.98	<0.001

n = 125,936.

Stage 2: Logistic regression models

The Stage 2a model shows that most control variables cannot reliably predict an unwillingness to contact the police for help in the future; gender, income, and race/ethnicity are not statistically significantly related (p > .05) to individuals’ unwillingness to contact the police (see Table 3). However, 45-64-year-olds are 75.6% less likely to report an unwillingness to contact the police than 18-24-year-olds; this relationship is statistically significant (p < .05). Individuals who adhere to at least one legally cynical value (i.e., perceived the police as illegitimate, unresponsive, or unequipped) have 305.9% greater odds of reporting that they are less willing to contact the police in the future than those who reported no legally cynical beliefs, holding all other variables constant. Thus, Stage 1 results that suggest legally cynical values are related to individuals’ unwillingness to contact the police are reinforced by Stage 2a′s more stringent multivariate analysis. A goodness-of-fit measure reveals that the Stage 2a model accounts for 5.3% of the variation in individuals’ willingness to contact the police (McFadden’s R² = 0.053). Individuals who adhere to at least one legally cynical value after personal contact with the police are predicted to be less willing to contact the police than those who do not adhere to any legally cynical value, holding all other variables constant.

Table 3.

Logistic regression predicting the odds that individuals are unwilling to contact the police (Stage 2a).

	OR	SE	p	95% CI
Age^a
25-44	0.278	0.195	0.068	0.070–1.102
45-64	0.244*	0.169	0.042	0.062–0.951
65 or older	0.309	0.231	0.116	0.071–1.339
Female (=2)^b	0.791	0.230	0.421	0.447–1.400
Income^c
$50,000-$74,999	1.225	0.498	0.618	0.552–2.726
$75,000 or more	0.798	0.252	0.475	0.430–1.482
Race
Black	1.260	0.595	0.626	0.499–3.180
Hispanic	0.806	0.368	0.637	1.330–1.972
Asian	2.284	2.317	0.415	0.313–16.675
Non-Hispanic mixed or other	1.306	0.890	0.695	0.344–4.966
Legal cynicism	4.059**	1.890	0.003	1.630–10.109
Intercept	0.871	0.719	0.867	0.173–4.394

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.

n = 30,964.

McFadden’s R² = 0.053.

^a18-24 years = 1.

^bMale = 1.

^c$49,999 or less = 1.

Whereas the Stage 2a assesses if adherence to at least one legally cynical value predicts willingness to contact the police, the Stage 2b model offers a more nuanced approach by distinguishing between adherence to three distinct legally cynical values. These more detailed specifications strengthen the explanatory power of the analysis, explaining 10.9% of the variation in the outcome, approximately double that of the Stage 2a model (McFadden’s R² = 0.109). The Stage 2b model demonstrates a statistically insignificant relationship (p > .05) between age, race/ethnicity, gender, and income on individuals’ willingness to contact police in the future (see Table 4). However, perceptions of the police as illegitimate (p < .001), unresponsive (p < .05), and ill-equipped (p < .01) share a statistically significant relationship with unwillingness to contact the police when controlling for age, race/ethnicity, gender, and income. Adherence to any individual legally cynical belief reduces individuals’ willingness to contact the police for help, holding all other variables constant.

Table 4.

Logistic regression predicting the odds that individuals are unwilling to contact the police (Stage 2b).

	OR	SE	p	95% CI
Age^a
25-44	0.293	0.197	0.068	0.078–1.097
45-64	0.288	0.189	0.057	0.798–1.040
65 or older	0.336	0.243	0.131	0.082–1.384
Female (=2)^b	0.765	0.229	0.371	0.426–1.375
Income^c
$50,000-$74,999	1.304	0.575	0.547	0.549–3.096
$75,000 or more	0.852	0.288	0.636	0.440–1.652
Race
Black	1.426	0.787	0.520	0.484–4.204
Hispanic	0.920	0.415	0.853	0.380–2.228
Asian	2.154	2.174	0.447	0.298–15.581
Non-Hispanic mixed or other	1.323	0.927	0.689	0.335–5.222
Perception of police
Illegitimate (=1)^e	4.155***	1.656	<0.001	1.903–9.074
Unresponsive (=1)^f	2.089*	0.675	0.023	1.109–3.936
Ill-Equipped (=1)^g	2.814**	1.031	0.005	1.372–5.770
Intercept	0.615	0.464	0.520	0.140–2.697

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

n = 30,964.

McFadden’s R² = 0.109.

^a18-24 years = 1.

^bMale = 1.

^c$49,999 or less = 1.

^dWhite = 1.

^eLegitimate (no bias) = 0.

^fPrompt response = 0.

^gImproved situation = 0.

As seen in Table 4, individuals who perceive bias during a recent contact with the police are predicted to have 315.5% greater odds of reporting that they are less willing to contact the police for help in the future than those who perceive no bias. When individuals feel their situation did not improve after contacting the police, they are estimated to have 181.4% greater odds of reporting that they are less willing to contact the police in the future than those who feel their situation improved. When individuals believe the police response to their call for help to be slow (or non-existent), Stage 2b predicts 108.9% greater odds that they will be less willing to contact police in the future compared to those who report a prompt police response. While Table 4’s odds ratio scores imply that perceptions of police illegitimacy have the strongest predictive capacity on individuals’ unwillingness to contact the police, followed by perceptions of police as ill-equipped, and unresponsive, the confidence intervals (CI) tell a different story. The 95% CI range for each IV tells us that the true population coefficients may reveal a different ordering of the IVs’ predictive strength on the DV than that suggested by the odds ratio values. For example, if the population coefficient for “unresponsive” is 3.94 (i.e., the highest point of the variable’s CI range), the perception of police unresponsiveness could have a stronger impact on individuals’ willingness to contact the police than perceptions of the police all illegitimate or ill-equipped (i.e., because latter variables’ population coefficients could be as low as 1.90 and 1.37, respectively). Thus, the more rigorous Stage 2b analysis does not support the Stage 1 finding that perceptions of police illegitimacy have a stronger relationship with less willingness to contact the police than perceptions of the police as unresponsive and ill-equipped. Nonetheless, Stage 2b expands upon findings from Stage 2a, revealing a statistically significant relationship between an unwillingness to contact the police and perceptions of the police as illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped.

Discussion

Legal cynicism predisposes an unwillingness to contact the police. Adherence to any legally cynical value following a recent police contact reduces individuals’ willingness to contact the police for help in the future when controlling for age, race/ethnicity, gender, and income. Stage 1 demonstrates a relationship between each legally cynical value and individuals’ willingness to contact the police. Stage 2a shows that individuals who adhere to one or more legally cynical values have 4.1 times greater odds of reporting less willingness to contact the police compared to those who report no legal cynicism. Moreover, adherence to any of the three facets of legal cynicism following recent police contacts predicts an unwillingness to contact the police; Stage 2b shows that individuals who perceive the police as illegitimate, unresponsive, or ill-equipped are predicted to report less willingness to contact the police than those who perceived no police bias, prompt police responses, and who’s situation improved after contacting police. Altogether, these findings suggest that legal cynicism operates as a facet within residents’ cultural repertoires, which they use to navigate their engagement with law enforcement. This insight supports and grounds findings regarding legal cynicism’s ability to suppress basic forms of civic engagement (i.e., calling the police for personal safety) (Desmond et al., 2016, 2020; Drolc and Shoub 2024) and other scholarship documenting residents’ reliance on or support of law enforcement despite legal cynicism (Bell 2016; Campeau et al., 2021; Carr et al., 2007; Hagan et al., 2018).

Despite research demonstrating a stronger relationship between legal cynicism and racialized and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (e.g., Desmond et al., 2016, 2020; Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998), this study’s use of a primarily white and middle- to upper-class sample reveals that legal cynicism has serious implications beyond these communities. While past research suggests that the impact of legal cynicism may remain more significant and/or long-lasting in racialized and socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Desmond et al., 2016, 2020), perhaps the gap differentiating the impact of legal cynicism among racial and socioeconomic lines is diminishing – ‘shifting over time’ as Ben-Menachem and Torrats-Espinosa (2024) suggest. Scholars should explore this avenue and investigate how legal cynicism has evolved temporally and demographically.

This study demonstrates that how the law is enforced and perceived by residents can have serious consequences for residents’ civic engagement. Practitioners should focus attention on counteracting legal cynicism by adjusting their law enforcement strategies. While various scholars have called for procedural justice concepts (e.g., fairness) to be integrated within police decision-making to establish or reaffirm legitimacy (i.e., trust and authority) in the police (Gau 2015; Goodier and Lum 2023; Hough et al., 2010; Tyler 2003; Wolfe et al., 2016; Zahnow et al., 2021), this approach does not address perceptions of the police as unresponsive and ill-equipped. The predictive power of perceptions of police as unresponsive and ill-equipped highlights the need for practitioners to expand upon procedural justice strategies to enhance public views of police competence and responsiveness, alongside trust and legitimacy.

While scholars have focused on comparing the impact of perceptions of procedural justice and police effectiveness on legitimacy evaluations (Tyler 2003; Hough et al., 2010; Wolfe et al., 2016; Zanhow et al., 2021), advancing both perceptions may be the most effective to counterbalance broader legal cynicism. Net of individual characteristics (age, race, gender, and education), perceptions of procedural justice and police effectiveness are both positively and significantly associated with legitimacy evaluations (Hofer et al., 2020; Wolfe et al., 2016; Zanhow et al., 2021). Although procedural justice has a stronger impact in general, individuals who have prior contact with the police and those who live in neighbourhoods with lower collective efficacy and/or higher levels of disorder, rely more on police effectiveness to make their legitimacy evaluations (Zanhow et al., 2021); each of these conditions (i.e., prior police contact, low collective efficacy, and high crime rates) have also been tied to higher rates of legal cynicism (Bell 2016; Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011). Taken together, these findings suggest that enhancing perceptions of procedural fairness and police effectiveness – for example, by improving police response times and increasing transparency around case outcomes, consultation decisions, complaint findings, and training standards – can help reduce legal cynicism.

However, to manage perceptions requires the management of expectations. There is a gap between the demand for and capacity of contemporary police services; although the primary role of police services is law enforcement, they are called for nearly all emergencies apart from fire (Fleming and Grabosky 2009). To manage residents’ expectations of police, Fleming and Grabosky (2009) engage with five strategies – deterrence, deflection, delay, dilution, and denial – though only one is favourable to our discussion.⁵ A deflection strategy where non-criminal calls for service are redirected to alternative agencies (e.g., mental health counsellors) can offload police responsibilities while providing residents access to public support services. Offloading certain calls for service to appropriate agencies enables police to focus on core law enforcement duties, which can enhance perceptions of police competency, while ensuring residents’ needs are met by the most suitable responders, which can improve perceptions of community safety. Together, these shifts can combat perceptions that police are ill-equipped to keep communities safe. Developing partnerships with and investing in local support services (e.g., affordable housing and shelter services) would enhance a deflection strategies’ capacity for success by prioritizing community wellness and combatting structural conditions (e.g., concentrated poverty) that, in addition to neighbourhood variations in policing practices and negative experiences with police, foster legal cynicism (Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998). Investments into community-based alternatives to police services, both relating to social support services and crime control, have been supported by scholars (see Carr et al., 2007; Cobbina-Dungy and Jones Brown 2023; Hagan et al., 2018).

Limitations

As with any study, these insights must be considered alongside certain limitations. Although structural disadvantage, neighbourhood-level variations in policing, and prior police contact altogether inform perceptions of police (Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011), this study focuses specifically on how prior contact informs legal cynicism. Structural and neighbourhood policing conditions were largely obscured by the secondary data that informed this analysis. Nevertheless, this study supports an understanding of legal cynicism as a cultural repertoire that residents draw upon to guide their actions.

This study applied legal cynicism deductively, using theory to interpret rather than design the analysis. Although applying theory retroactively to secondary data risks misalignment between variables and the theoretical construct, the PPCS data provides useful perception-based data about law enforcement at a scale that would otherwise be difficult to acquire. Foundational – and some of the most prominently cited – legal cynicism research utilizes a subset of survey data (e.g., from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighbourhoods) to operationalize their measures, resulting in sample sizes that are a mere fraction of that analysed here (see Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998). The scope of the PPCS data should not be understated. While future researchers would benefit from survey instruments specifically designed to measure legal cynicism, PPCS data allowed for national-level insight into how perceptions of police bias, responsiveness, and ability (i.e., the core facets of legal cynicism) guide residents’ willingness to call the police for help.

While this study is partially contextualized during national outrage following the murder of George Floyd, the PPCS did not record data collection dates to test if specific timeframes (e.g., May 25, 2020, and onward) altered the effects tested here. If future PPCS datasets include this information, researchers should consider limiting their timeframe to explore how benchmark events influence results. However, scholars should note that legal cynicism stemming from national events (e.g., high-profile police violence cases) may never be fully disaggregated from legal cynicism generally because the former has been shown to have a long-lasting impact on the public’s collective memory (Desmond et al., 2016). Public responses to police violence do not occur nor exist in a vacuum; legal cynicism stemming from Floyd’s murder will compound with other sources of legal cynicism measured in future studies, particularly those based in the United States.

Conclusion

By commenting on nationwide perceptions of police contact with a specific measure of the three facets of legal cynicism, this study is better equipped to assess the impact of legal cynicism than studies measuring the concept more broadly (see Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011; Sampson and Bartusch 1998), or those integrating the theory without a specific measure (see Bell 2016; Brunson and Wade 2019; Campeau et al., 2021; Desmond et al., 2016, 2020). Measures of legal cynicism less focused on perceptions of law enforcement (see Sampson and Bartusch 1998)⁶ or the three facets of legal cynicism (see Kirk and Matsuda 2011; Kirk and Papachristos 2011) leave critical gaps in our understanding of the cultural dimensions of the theory. Using legal cynicism to frame broader mistrust and/or negative perceptions of police (see Brunson and Wade 2019) erodes our understanding of what constitutes legal cynicism. While legal cynicism certainly relates to perceptions of trust and fairness in police services, it operates beyond procedural justice theory (Gau 2015; Hagan et al., 2018; Reisig et al., 2011) and is specifically concerned with beliefs about the legitimacy, responsiveness, and abilities of law enforcement (Kirk and Papachristos 2011). While scholars should not avoid theoretical applications, research designs that actively measure legal cynicism can more accurately contribute to our understanding of what constitutes legal cynicism and, thereby, how it operates and its broader implications.

Continued research into the many facets and nuances of legal cynicism theory is important because police and policymakers have demonstrated a willingness to commit to change based on community perceptions of police (Hagan et al., 2018). For example, to strengthen community trust in police, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) recommended that law enforcement use procedural justice as a guiding principle for internal and external policies. A willingness from policymakers and police to commit to change based on public perceptions suggests that legal cynicism may play a key role in future changes to policing. Scholars advocating for community-based alternatives to police services (e.g., Cobbina-Dungy and Jones Brown 2023) may be particularly interested in utilizing a legal cynicism framework, considering Hagan et al.’s (2018) argument that legally cynical residents only continue to call the police due to a lack of available and quality alternatives to police services.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflict of interest

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical statement

ORCID iD

Kaitlyn Hunter

Data Availability Statement

The dataset analyzed in this article is publicly available. For access to the 2020 Police-Public Contact Survey dataset, visit the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38320.V1 ().

Notes

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