Law Commons^™

Why Do Criminals Obey The Law? The Influence Of Legitimacy And Social Networks On Active Gun Offenders, Andrew V. Papachristos, Tracey L. Meares, Jeffrey Fagan

Andrew Papachristos

Research on procedural justice and legitimacy suggests that compliance with the law is best secured not by mere threat of force, but by fostering beliefs in the fairness of the legal systems and in the legitimacy of legal actors. To date, however, this research has been based on general population surveys and more banal types of law violating behavior (such as unpaid parking tickets, excessive noise, etc.). Thus, while we know why the average citizen obeys the law, we do not have similar knowledge as it pertains to the population most likely to commit serious violent crimes. This study fills …