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Abstract

The legitimacy of the Dutch police is under strain. On the one hand, citizens claim that safety has become one of the most important problems in the Netherlands whilst, on the other hand, they criticise government in general and the police in particular for being unable to realise a safe society.

During the previous decade, several initiatives were developed in order to relegitimise the actions of the police by improving police performance. Community policing was introduced in order to increase both the effectiveness and availability of the police.

This article theoretically and empirically explores the criteria citizens use to judge the police. This article illustrates the discrepancy between the wishes and demands of citizens and the way in which public-sector organizations, such as the police, try to satisfy citizens.

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Legitimacy and Public-Sector Quality: How Citizens Judge the Quality of the Police

Abstract

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References