Interactions with the police, legitimacy, and vigilantism: does police legitimacy mediate the effect of being stopped by the police on support for vigilantism?

• Grant number: 21/06639-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal researcher: Sergio França Adorno de Abreu
• Grantee: José Teles Mendes
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07923-7 - Center of the Study of Violence - NEV/USP, AP.CEPID

Abstract

This research analyzes the effect of being stopped by the police on support for vigilantism through police legitimacy in São Paulo city. Vigilantism is the prevention, investigation, or punishment of offenses carried out by private agents acting independently of the state. This study hypothesizes that being stopped by the police reduces police legitimacy, which, in its turn, increases support for vigilantism. I apply a new selection in observables approach to perform this mediation analysis, the Regression-With-Residuals (RWR). The RWR decomposes the observed effects into indirect and direct effects, allowing the researcher to check for existing mediations. The research uses data from the Longitudinal Panel with Residents in São Paulo, provided by NEV/USP. (AU)