Justifying the Unjust: A multidisciplinary study exploring and assessing the influence of legitimation strategies for criminal practices on public opinion

Criminal groups communicate strategically about their practices to legitimate them in the court of public opinion as well as to morally justify their actions. For example, claims about the harmed party’s immorality, lack of intended harm, or positioning oneself as a Robin Hood type “virtuous criminal” may be used to derive communication strategies that legitimize criminal action through the psychological mechanism of moral balancing. Although legitimization strategies are common practices, we do not know how the general public evaluates criminal groups’ legitimization strategies. The goal of this project is to study the influence of legitimization strategies by criminal groups on public opinion. By conducting a systematic literature review and behavioral conjoint experiments informed by crime-fighting and prevention stakeholder expertise, this research project will reveal what types of legitimization strategies exist, what makes them effective, and how they may dangerously sway public opinion. Synergistically combining previously dispersed expertise from VU and UT researchers, this project lays important groundwork for subsequent research projects, and directly informs practice: a better understanding of the effectiveness of legitimization strategies will help support law enforcement agencies to develop effective de-legitimization strategies to counter criminal action.