Police Authority: A Case Study

There is an undeniable complexity with how the public view police actions, and thus their legitimacy and authority (Harkin 2015). Tankebe (2012) identifies that legitimacy may easily be misunderstood for fear of the police and a sense of powerlessness which amounts to the public’s obedience. This obedience is understood as a result of the authority that the police maintain as a law enforcement agency. In saying that, many police officers have recongised that when force is used, their authority has failed (Bottoms and Tankebe 2012). This may be because officers recognise that, as representatives of the nation and of society (Jackson and Bradford 2009), the extreme use of force is an abuse of their powers and the trust vested upon them. As …show more content…
As the law grants the police with automatic authority, and thus due to the legal duty the police maintain, they have the right to enforce the law irrespective of public approval (Bradford and Quinton 2014). In this respect, the public does not need to view them as legitimate. In routinely exercising the authority granted to police, they can act in exceptional, exceptionable or illegal ways (Waddington 1999). This is evident in the fact that the laws governing violence, do not strictly apply to police officers (Chan 1999), as the police are often not held accountable for their use of violence. This can be seen in the case of Darren Nevile. Whom sadly passed away, after becoming unwell whilst police restrained him. After an investigation, even after direct police contact, the IPCC could find no case to answer against any officer regarding the death of Nevile (IPCC 2016). Ultimately, the exercise of coercive authority is not something that just anyone can do (Waddington …show more content…
But it is also a matter of how people perceive the legitimacy of the laws and rules enforced by those with authority. They argue that even if the police are seen to uphold legitimate authority, the rules, policies and practices they enforce, may not be deemed as legitimate. Murphy and Cherney (2012) have identified how this can equally affect the willingness of the public to cooperate with the police. As, ultimately, for the public to comply with the police they must be in compliance with the laws enforced by the state. If the public disagrees with the laws imposed, it may undermine the legitimacy of the police, who are acting lawfully and in accordance with their duty, and without acting in illegitimate ways (Tyler