Trust in the Police Force,
Police Legitimacy,
and the Intent to Offend:
A Study of Japanese Teenagers

International Self-Report
Delinquency Study（ISRD）
Working Paper Series No. 2

Masahiro Tsushima (Ryukoku University)

ISRD-JAPAN project was supported primarily by
the Criminology Research Center, Ryukoku
University (adopted as the Private University
Research Branding Project of MEXT)
and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 21H00785.

Trust in the Police Force, Police Legitimacy,
and the Intent to Offend:
A Study of Japanese Teenagers
International Self-Report Delinquency Study（ISRD）
Working Paper Series No. 2

Author: Masahiro Tsushima (Ryukoku University)
Date of Issue: March 11, 2022
Publisher: ISRD-JAPAN Executive Committee

Trust in the Police Force, Police Legitimacy, and the Intent to Offend: A Study of Japanese
Teenagers
Masahiro Tsushima (Ryukoku University)

Traditional social bonds of family and community have eroded with the advancement of individualism andsecularism. Some people find it difficult to access informal mutual support. Consequently, functions
discharged by public services such as the police force have become more essential for the daily lives ofcitizens. Japan, a country once famous for its collectivist culture, is not an exception to this trend.
Police work requires public support for the recognition of incidents of crime and the identification of
unknown suspects. The police force must be trusted by the public to execute the tasks with which it ischarged. Critically, however, a series of police brutality incidents across the globe have decreased publictrust in the police force, especially in Western societies. To cite a memorable example, the May 2020incident of a white Minneapolis police officer killing a black man named George Floyd triggered the Black
Lives Matter movement.
Both academic and practical attention has been attracted to the theory of procedural justice (PJ) and
its role in shaping the public's willingness to support the police force in crime control. The current study
forms a part of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD)-JAPAN project1 and involves
three objectives. First, it purposes to examine the levels of trust and legitimacy accorded to police
personnel by Japanese teenagers vis-à-vis their counterparts in other ISRD countries (mostly European

1

nations). Second, it assesses the suitability of the PJ model to the data obtained apropos Japaneseteenagers. Third, the analysis outcomes of the study are referenced to demonstrate some limitations of
the current investigation and its methodology and to highlight certain crucial issues for future researchendeavors.

Procedural Justice Theory
American social psychologist Tom Tyler posited and developed PJ theory. The concept elucidates how
police personnel interact with the public, how such interactions shape the public image of the police force,and how such interfaces influence the willingness of the citizenry to comply with the law and cooperatewith the police (Tyler, 2006; Jackson et al., 2009). In specific terms, people are likely to trust the police
force if they are treated fairly by police personnel. The level of legitimacy enjoyed by the constabulary
also consequently increases. People who perceive the police force as more legitimate will, in turn, be
more likely to comply with the law and cooperate with police officers (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Procedural Justice (PJ) Model (Tyler, 2006; Jackson et al., 2009)
The PJ model is sufficiently tested in Western settings and is endorsed by abundant empiricalevidence (Jackson et al., 2012). The results of the ISRD3 survey using compliance as a dependent2

variable also evinced that the PJ model was generally supported among teenagers in European countries
and the United States (Farren et al., 2018). However, some studies have indicated that the PJ model is
not equivalently applicable to non-Western countries (e.g., Tankebe, 2009 for Ghana; Jackson et al., 2014
for Pakistan; and Tsushima & Hamai, 2015 for Japan). In Japan, the PJ model was found to beinappropriate because of (1) the conceptual problem associated with the word “duty” in questions alluding
to the “duty to obey the order of the police,”2 (2) the paucity of information available to people about thepolice, and (3) the citizenry’s low expectations from the police force in Japan’s crime-free and safe
society.
The current study duplicates the research design and data analysis methodology of a previously
conducted study (Farren et al., 2018) examining ISRD3 data. It hypothesizes that Japanese teenagers
who trust the police tend to regard the police force as legitimate and thus comply with the law. Importantly,
this study is the first to verify the PJ model with data pertaining to Japanese teenagers.

Data and Method
The questions related to PJ in the ISRD3 survey were translated into Japanese and were employed fordata collection. The variables included compliance with the law (dependent variable), trust in the police
force (independent variable), and police legitimacy (intermediate variable).
The measure of intention to offend was chosen as a proxy for compliance in congruence with Farren
et al.’s (2018) study. The intention extent was measured using two vignette questions (9.2, 9.4):

3

respondents read a fictitious account and selected one answer option that most approximated theiropinions.
The variable of trust in the police was evaluated via five questions (10.1–10.5). Perceived police
legitimacy was assessed through three questions (10.6–10.8). The respondents were required to selectthe response closest to their desired answer. The questions and answers may be reviewed in the
Appendix.
The ISRD survey was conducted between December 2019 and February 2020 with 1,226 students
attending seventh to ninth grades in randomly selected classrooms in the Kansai region. Osaka, thelargest city of this territory, is also the second-most populated metropolitan area in Japan. ISRD-Japan
researchers visited the designated classrooms and asked students to fill in their answers to thequestionnaire during a class period. The computer-assisted self-interviewing method was employed tocollect the data. The targeted number of the respondents was 1,362. Some students were absent on the
day of data collection and some parents refused their children’s participation in the survey. Further, twoanswer sheets were deemed invalid and eliminated. Therefore, the final response rate was 90.0%. Only
ninth-grade participants (N=422) were asked to respond to PJ-related questions upon contemplation of
their appropriate ability to evaluate the contents.

Results4

Among other objectives, this study purposed to ascertain the levels of trust Japanese teenagers vested in
the police force and their perception of police legitimacy by comparing these parameters against theresults reported by their ISRD peers. Figure 2 presents the mean POMP scores3 reported by Japan andother ISRD3 countries apropos trust. The figure reveals that Japan’s score is almost the highest among
all ISRD3 countries.

Figure 2. Mean POMP Scores of Trust for All ISRD Countries
Note: This figure is modified from Farren et al. (2018: 178)
Figure 3 displays the mean POMP scores vis-à-vis legitimacy. Japan’s score is somewhat higher than
the average tallies reported by the other ISRD3 countries.

5Figure 3. Mean POMP Values of Legitimacy for All ISRD Countries
Note: This figure is modified from Farren et al. (2018: 179)
Figure 4 exhibits the effects of trust on legitimacy after controlling for gender, age, and self-control.
Trust was found to statistically significantly influence the perception of police legitimacy. Teenagers inJapan as well as other ISRD3 countries who trusted the police also tended to perceive the police force as
legitimate.

Figure 4. Effects of Trust on Legitimacy in All ISRD Countries

6Note: This figure is modified from Farren et al. (2018: 180)
Next, this study examined the suitability of the PJ model to the data obtained for Japanese teenagers.
Table 1 evinces the results of regression models controlling for gender, age, and self-control.
Table 1. Regression models for the effects of PJ on the intention to offend

Model 1 shows how trust influences the intention to offend without controlling for legitimacy. In otherwords, it displays the total effect of trust on the intention to offend. Model 2 reveals the effect of trust on
the intention to offend after controlling for legitimacy. Put differently, it evinces the direct effect of trust on
the intention to offend. The results reject the PJ hypothesis, divulging that both the total and direct effectsof trust on the intention to offend are not statistically significant at the.05 level. According to Farren et al.
(2018), 18 of the 27 ISRD countries reported a significant total effect of trust on the intention to offend.
When the variable of legitimacy was introduced, the total effects decreased dramatically for most of theabove-mentioned 18 countries, which primarily represented developed European nations. In other words,
perceived legitimacy was found to mediate between trust in the police and the intention to offend. The

7

results of the present study were statistically significant at the.01 level for the effect of legitimacy on theintention to offend. Notably, self-control also statistically significantly influenced the intention to offend at
the.001 level and denoted the most significant variable for the present analysis.

Discussion and Conclusion
This study is the first to validate the PJ model with data pertaining to Japanese teenagers. This section
summarizes the results and discusses directions for prospective research endeavors.
The study found that the trust vested by Japanese teenagers in the police force and consequently
their perceptions of police legitimacy are relatively high compared to teenagers of other ISRD countries.
This outcome opposes the outcomes of a previous study conducted with adults by the author of thepresent investigation (Hamai & Tsushima, 2012). The age of the respondents could be a factor for the
disparity in results: the current study was targeted at early teenagers aged 14 and 15, while the previous
study involved adults (15–79 years old). Very few teenagers have experienced actual contact with thepolice and most of them probably answered the questions based on the positive image of the police force
disseminated by the media. The results could also reflect the reality: annual survey results (Chuo-chosasha, 2022) reported 2.3 out of 5 points as the level of trust in the police force in 2000 (higher scoresindicated a higher level of trust); this score rose steadily to 3.6 points in 2021. Thus, the public trust in theconstabulary has grown over the last two decades.

8Second, the effect of trust in the police on legitimacy was found to be statistically significant. Thus,
Japanese teenagers who trust the police are likely to feel that the police should be allowed to exercise
their authority to maintain social order, manage conflicts, and solve problems. The effect of legitimacy on
the intention to offend was also statistically significant. Teenagers who regard the police as legitimate arelikely to comply with the laws. However, no causal relationship was found between the level of trust in thepolice and the degree of the intention to offend. In sum, the data obtained from Japanese teenagers reject
the PJ model. Put differently, the PJ hypothesis that fair police actions incentivize the public to comply
with the law may not apply to Japanese teenagers. The reasons for this divergence are unclear for the
moment. Further analyses must be conducted with the Japanese data and additional studies of PJ are
required to more comprehensively apprehend the associations between teenagers and the police force.
Finally, the results of the present study indicate that individual personal factors such as self-control
function crucially as triggers of delinquent behaviors in juveniles in Japan rather than the public
perceptions of the police force. However, this finding is unrelated to the central theme of the present study
and could be undertaken in future initiatives.

9References
Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1999). The problem of units and the circumstance for
POMP. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 34, 315–346.
Chuo-chosa sha. (2019). Giin, Kanryo, Daikigyo, Keisatsu tou no Shinnrai-kan chosa [A survey on trust inassembly members, government officials, police, and others]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.crs.or.jp/data/pdf/trust19.pdf
Farren, D., Hough, M., Murray, K., & McVie, S. (2018). Trust in the police and police legitimacy throughthe eyes of teenagers. In Sebastian Roche & Mike Hough (eds.). Minority youth and social integration:
The ISRD-3 study in Europe and the US. Springer, 167–192.
Hamai, K., & Tsushima, M. (2012). Shakai-chosa no Riron to Shikumi: Trust in Justice no Chosa Kekka
kara [Theory and methods in social survey: By using the results of trust in justice study]. Kikan
Keiji-Bengo, 650, 132–137.
Jackson, J., Hough, M., Farrall, S., Aromaa, K., & de Keijeser, J. (2009). ESS5 Trust in justice module
proposal. Retrieved from http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round5/
questionnaire/ESS5_jackson_proposal.pdf.
Jackson, J., Hough, M., Bradford, B., Hohl, K., & Kuha, J. (2012). Policing by consent: Understanding the
dynamics of police power and legitimacy. Topline Results (UK) from Round 5 of the European Social
Survey. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/47220/1/Policing%20by%20consent(lsero).pdf

10Jackson, J., Asif, M., Bradford, B., & Zakar, M. Z. (2014). Corruption and police legitimacy in Lahore,
Pakistan. British Journal of Criminology, 54, 1067–1088.
Tankebe, J. (2009). Self-help, policing, and procedural justice: Ghanian vigilantism and the rule of law.
Law and Society Review, 43, 245–270.
Tsushima, M. & Hamai, K. (2015). Public cooperation with the police in Japan: Testing the legitimacy
model. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 31, 212–228.
Tyler, T. R. (2006). Why people obey the law. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

11Appendix: Questions and Answers

Research Methods

学部
国際学部
Yellow# f9be00

Measures of Trust in the Police (2)経営学部
Orange# ec6c00
短期大学部
Pink# e63178
社会学部
Lavender# c84e96
法学部
Violet# 914897
文学部
Purple# 69308d
経済学部
Sky Blue# 00b8ee
先端理工学部Blue# 004da0
政策学部
Yellow Green# 7ebf41
農学部
Green# 009d62

12Turquoises# 00b0a8© RYUKOKU UNIVERSITY All Rights Reserved.

16

Funding
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or
publication of this article: This work is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant 21H00785.

Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.

1

The International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) represents an international project thatadministers standardized self-report questionnaires across the world to determine delinquency among
teenagers aged between 12 and16 and compares the results across countries. The ongoing third round(ISRD3) began in 2012 with 40 participating countries. Japan has never participated in the ISRD study

13

before this iteration, and the ISRD-JAPAN project began in 2017. The “flexible part” of the ISRD3 includes
a set of questions designed to measure the major concepts of PJ.
2

Tsushima and Hamai (2015: 222) explain: The PJ hypothesis presupposes that the ideal respondents

are members of civilized societies that highly value and praise individualism as an attribute of citizenship.
However, the Japanese sense of citizenship differs from the Western, partly because Japanese society
did not experience a civic rebellion such as the French revolution or the American War of Independence.
Democracy and civic individualism are thus not completely entrenched in Japanese society.
3

POMP refers to percentage of maximum possible (Farren et al., 2018: 175). POMP scores are

employed when every question encompasses a different number of responses. All Individual responses
are standardized or converted into percentage, ranging from 0% to 100%. POMP scores are calculatedusing the formula POMP = 100*(raw - min)/(max - min), where raw = original mean score of variables(items) with valid values, min = minimum possible value, and max = maximum possible value (min andmax need not exist in the actual data) (see Cohen et al., 1999). For example, Question 9.2 (SeeAppendix) offers 5 response categories. The first response category is converted into 0, the second into
25, the third into 50, the fourth into 75, and the fifth into 100.

14ISRD-JAPAN Steering Committee
Tsushima, Masahiro (Ryukoku Univ., Chairperson)
Fukushima, Itaru (Ryukoku Univ.)
Hamai, Koichi (Ryukoku Univ.)
Ishizuka, Shin-ichi (Ryukoku Univ.)
Kubota, Makoto (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.)
Matsubara, Hideyo (Ehime Univ.)
Morihisa, Chie (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Okabe, Takeshi (Kyoto Univ.)
Park, Won-Kyu (Univ. of Kitakyushu)
Sakuta, Seiichiro (Bukkyo Univ.)
Tsutomi, Hiroshi (Univ. of Shizuoka)
Ueda, Mitsuaki (Doshisha Univ.)

ISRD-JAPAN Executive Committee
Aizawa, Ikuo (Rissho Univ.)
Gato, Satoshi (Ryukoku Univ.)
Hashiba, Noriko (Seikei Univ.)
Kubota, Makoto (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.)
Maruyama, Yasuhiro (Rissho Univ.)
Matsukawa, Anna (NIED)Morihisa, Chie (Ritsumeikan Univ.)
Nakamori, Hiroki (Rikkyo Univ.)
Nishimoto, Masafumi (Ryukoku Univ.)Oe, Masataka (Kyoto Univ.)
Okabe, Takeshi (Kyoto Univ.)
Otani, Akinori (Ryukoku Univ.)
Otsuka, Eriko (Aichi Univ. of Education)
Sagara, Sho (Saitama Prefectural Univ.)
Saito, Takahito (Kyoto Univ.)
Sakuta, Seiichiro (Bukkyo Univ.)
Takenaka, Yuji (Hokuriku Gakuin Univ.)
Tsushima, Masahiro (Ryukoku Univ.)
Tsushima, Risa (Okayama Prefectural Univ.)
Tsutomi, Hiroshi (Univ. of Shizuoka)
Ueda, Mitsuaki (Doshisha Univ.)