This exploratory research examines the perceptions of private security officers toward police in South Korea. In an era in which diverse agents of policing comprise the network of security governance, a lot of policing services are provided in privatized forms. The police are not the most prominent policing authority anymore, and cooperation between the nodes of the security network warrants investigation. Therefore, this research assesses security officers' attitudes about police and cooperation with them.By applying a theoretical framework of legitimacy and procedural justice (Tyler, 1990; Tyler & Huo, 2002), the research question, "What are the factors that shape private security officers' perceptions of police legitimacy and its influence on cooperation with police officers?" is answered. A cross-sectional survey is administered to officers working for two large private security companies located in the Seoul metropolitan areas and two major casinos in the country. A total of 436 private security officers have participated and multivariate analyses are employed to identify the predictors of police legitimacy and intention for and actual engagement in cooperation with the police. Research and policy implications are suggested and guidelines for future studies are discussed based on the research limitations.
Read
