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Police legitimacy under the spotlight: media coverage of police performance in the face of a high terrorism threat

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Abstract

Objectives

To examine the impact of terrorism threat on the media framing of police legitimacy.

Methods

A quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series design. The study analyzed press coverage of police legitimacy before and during the course of the Second Intifada in Israel between the years 1998 and 2007. Examination of the coverage of legitimacy was based on the framework of Tyler's process-based model, which evaluated data from 2,600 press reports culled from three major dailies in Israel.

Results

The first period of the Second Intifada was found to have a significant and positive effect on the coverage of police legitimacy. Following the outbreak of the Second Intifada, there was a significant increase in media portrayals of public trust and confidence in the police.

Conclusions

The study provides new insight into the role of the media in shaping legitimacy under conditions of high terrorism threats. The results suggest that in the face of the highest level of terrorist attacks, the media stress coverage of public trust. Moreover, by underscoring the effectiveness of the police in counterterrorism policing, and in some cases even portraying the police force as heroic, the media reinforce police legitimacy. Future research is needed in this field. Expanding the analysis to additional variables such as the government view of the police and police spokespeople's strategies will enhance existing knowledge on the media coverage of police legitimacy.

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Notes

  1. The term intifada refers to the violent Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of which have been under Israeli military control since 1967. The First Intifada lasted for approximately 5 years, from 1987 to 1993. The Second Intifada began in September, 2000, and is still ongoing.

  2. In months with 31 days, 22 articles were selected. The additional articles were randomly selected from weeks that were not covered by the random selection process in order to improve the representativeness of the sample.

  3. In the wake of intensive terrorist attacks, press coverage is liable to change in several aspects, such as, the construction of news headlines (e.g., rhetorical, hyperbole, emotional overstatement, melodramatization), the length of news articles, topics covered in the articles, and the visuals accompanying the news article, namely, the headline colors and images in the photographs and the numbers of photographs accompanying the news items (Dor 2004; Sela-Shayovitz 2007).

  4. The general guidelines for coding relate to maintaining the following requirements: employ pilot content analysis, indicate clear instructions for coding, use skilled coders and engage in practice sessions, code independently, use clear criteria, and use a single classification principle to strive for an accurate reflection of research objectivity. By employing these guidelines, the reliability of the coding process increases (Krippendoff 2004).

  5. As mentioned before, further details on the items of legitimacy indicators are provided in Appendix A.

  6. The ‘Parinyan brothers’ case’ relates to the involvement of senior police officers in organized crime in Israel. Consequently, a commission of inquiry appointed by the Israeli government published a report, which harshly criticized the police and led to the resignation of the inspector general and other senior police officers.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers, Professor David Weisburd, and Dr. Tal Jonathan-Zamir for their insightful and helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. David Yellin Academic College and Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mevo Tidhar 14, Mevasseret Zion, 90805, Israel

    Revital Sela-Shayovitz

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  1. Revital Sela-Shayovitz
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Correspondence to Revital Sela-Shayovitz.

Appendix A: Legitimacy indicators

Appendix A: Legitimacy indicators

The following items were identified as fit with respect to each one of the indicators, including positive and negative opinions (in parentheses). Furthermore, some examples from the newspapers are provided below each one of the indicators.

Trust in Police:

  1. 1.

    I trust the police (I don’t trust the police).

  2. 2.

    I have confidence that the police are doing their job well (I don’t have confidence in the police).

  3. 3.

    I think that police constables are generally honest (I think that police constables are generally dishonest).

  4. 4.

    I believe that the police will succeed in dealing well with these assignments (I don’t believe that the police will succeed in dealing with these assignments).

  5. 5.

    The police can be trusted to make the right decisions (The police failed to make the right decisions).

  6. 6.

    Police constables act within the law (Police constables exceed their authority).

Examples from the newspapers regarding trust in the police:

  1. 1.

    “Minister of Internal Security, Avi Dichter: ‘I trust the police. The police in Israel are responsible and professional enough and if there were mistakes they will be investigated and corrected.’” Ha’aretz, October 31, 2007.

  2. 2.

    “Prime Minister Sharon pledged his full support to the police [before the disengagement operation] and said: ‘I trust the police that they will perform the assignment in a good and professional manner. You [the] officers: Don’t be deterred by any threat and by those who threaten you.’” Yedi’ot Aharonot, May 17, 2005.

  3. 3.

    “The decision to dismiss Major General Moshe Mizrahi, head of the Investigations Division in the police, is a courageous decision, based on the report of the State Comptroller and Attorney General, and in this way it reinforces rules of proper administration and restores the public’s trust in the police.” Yedi’ot Aharonot, November 22, 2004.

  4. 4.

    “Survey: 40% of the public feel distrust toward the police. Public trust in the police is constantly eroding – only 14% of the public have great trust in the police.” Ha’aretz, February 20, 2007.

  5. 5.

    “A concerned citizen: ‘I don’t believe that the police are capable of taking care of everything. Citizens are tired of waiting for the police to stop handling security issues and find time to deal with ordinary crimes.’” Ma’ariv, May 15, 2005.

  6. 6.

    “‘Minister of Internal Security Avi Dichter’s latest series of appointments indicates the minister’s distrust of the police organization and senior command,’ senior police officers stated last night.” Ma’ariv, October 7, 2005.

Police Performance:

  1. 1.

    The police are fighting crime effectively (The police failed to fight crime effectively).

  2. 2.

    The police responded quickly to people calling for help (The police did not respond rapidly to a call for help).

  3. 3.

    The police succeeded in solving criminal investigations (The police failed to solve criminal investigations).

  4. 4.

    The police succeeded in counterterrorism policing tasks, such as arresting terrorists on their way to commit a suicide attack (The police failed in arresting terrorists on their way to committing suicide).

  5. 5.

    Police efforts led to a decline in crime rates (The police failed to control crime rates).

  6. 6.

    The police are doing a good job in providing services to the community (The police fail to provide services to the community).

Examples from the newspapers of police performance:

  1. 1.

    “Police confronted a double challenge and did excellent police work during the disengagement in view of all those who could have been harmed by the evacuation.” Ma’ariv, August 26, 2005.

  2. 2.

    “The police investigation succeeded in leading to the arrest of 17 suspected drug traffickers in a massive operation that lasted seven months.” Ma’ariv, December 28, 2003.

  3. 3.

    “Police constables prevented the attack with their own bodies: Three constables overpowered a suicide bomber carrying a huge explosive.” Yedi’ot Aharonot. July 12, 2001.

  4. 4.

    “A police officer’s alertness prevented a severe explosion yesterday: The police officer suspected a young man who was sweating profusely along the Jerusalem border and had him arrested. The terrorist was going to blow himself up in the city center.” Yedi’ot Aharonot. July 18, 2006.

  5. 5.

    “The police report of 2003: Mounting crime. Police figures show that the sharpest increase in the last 6 years was 4.2% in reported crime rates.” Yedi’ot Aharonot, February 15, 2004.

  6. 6.

    “Violence is raging, crime is rampant, corruption is on the rise. Why did this happen to us? Where are the police? Is the situation really worse than ever?” Yedi’ot Aharonot, June 10, 2005.

Interpersonal Treatment

  1. 1.

    The police treat citizens with respect and dignity (Police treatment was degrading or disrespectful).

  2. 2.

    The police respected people’s rights (Police treatment was a violation of human rights).

  3. 3.

    The police treat everyone equally (Police treatment was racially biased).

  4. 4.

    The police tried to help citizens with their problems (Police constables didn’t provide assistance to citizens).

  5. 5.

    The police treat people’s complaints seriously (The police ignore people’s complaints).

  6. 6.

    Police treatment was appropriate (Police treatment was inappropriate).

Examples from the newspapers for interpersonal treatment:

  1. 1.

    “The rape victim, A, said that the attitude of the police investigators was polite but firm: ‘They asked all the difficult questions, but waited patiently and sensitively until I was able to answer.’” Ma’ariv, November 5, 2006.

  2. 2.

    “A survey in 2006 commissioned by the police found a discrepancy between the public’s attitude to a police constable and its attitude to the police in general: While the public considers the police constable a courteous and polite person, it still shows dissatisfaction with the police system as a whole.” Yedi’ot Aharonot, February 6, 2007.

  3. 3.

    “Att. Eitan Ben-David: ‘The police were courteous and fair. I went down to the patrol car without handcuffs even though I know they have to put handcuffs on suspects.’” Yedi’ot Aharonot, May 16, 2003.

  4. 4.

    “You can’t shoot a Druze man who is no less loyal to the country than a Jew. In a Jewish settlement this [kind of] thing would not happen.” Yedi’ot Aharonot, November 2, 2007.

  5. 5.

    “The victim is punished twice: The victims are subjected to a humiliating treatment by the police and are not considered a ‘party’ in the trial.” Yedi’ot Aharonot, October 18, 2004.

  6. 6.

    “The sister of the murder victim: ‘We went to the police station; we stood and waited for help and almost nobody paid attention to us. The attitude of the police was humiliating. They simply refused to acknowledge us and they referred us to the Kfar Saba police.’” Ma’ariv, December 16, 1998.

Procedural-Justice Processes

  1. 1.

    The police’s decision was just and based upon facts (The police’s decision was not just or was not based on facts).

  2. 2.

    The police’s decision was not racially biased (The police’s decision was racially biased).

  3. 3.

    The police constables gave an explanation for their actions (No explanations were given for police actions).

  4. 4.

    The police applied the law consistently to different people (The police applied the rules differently toward minorities).

  5. 5.

    The police applied the rules accurately (The police did not apply the rules accurately).

  6. 6.

    The police consider people’s opinions in their decisions (The police ignored the people’s point of view in their decisions).

Examples from the newspapers for procedural-justice processes:

  1. 1.

    “Judge Yehudit Tzur: ‘I won’t be exaggerating if I say that police investigators in this case acted with remarkable sensitivity…while ensuring that a fair, businesslike and proper investigation be conducted.’” Yedi’ot Aharonot, November 29, 2001.

  2. 2.

    “The court concluded that police proceeding in the arrest of Ze’ev Rosenstein was fair. The police investigation was conducted professionally and in accordance with existing procedures.” Ma’ariv, December 31, 2005.

  3. 3.

    “Commander of the Sharon region: ‘The police acted properly and in accordance with existing procedures in these cases [missing person]” Yedi’ot Aharonot, December 16, 1998.

  4. 4.

    “State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss found serious faults in the police’s functioning and established that some of the faults came from improper organizational culture and inobservance of procedures and regulations as required.” Ha’aretz, April 11, 2011.

  5. 5.

    “The difficult questions [are]: ‘Why didn’t the police know in advance that the residents of Pki’in were prepared for such a violent struggle? Why did the police dispatch such a large force in order to arrest just 17 suspects? Why did they shoot at the residents using live ammunition? Why did they enter the praying area which is holy to the Druze?’” Yedi’ot Aharonot, October 31, 2007.

  6. 6.

    “Head of the Police Internal Investigations Department Eran Shendar: ‘I definitely think that police are not telling the truth when asked about their fellow constables. I saw police standing in the hall and coordinating testimonies in public.’” Yedi’ot Aharonot, October 15, 1999

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Sela-Shayovitz, R. Police legitimacy under the spotlight: media coverage of police performance in the face of a high terrorism threat. J Exp Criminol 11, 117–139 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-014-9213-8

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