Purpose: The paper presents the key findings of the research conducted in Poland in 2013 within the framework of the international project titled “Legitimacy Policing and Criminal Justice in Central and Eastern Europe”. The main purpose of the study was to investigate whether and to what extent the process-based models of policing research hypotheses were supported in the Polish context. More specifically, the research examined influences of the main factors that shape the perception of police legitimacy and the impact of police legitimacy on public cooperation with the police.

Design/Methods/Approach: The study uses data from a web-survey conducted among 506 students of law, security, and administration from 11 higher-education institutions in Poland. A series of correlation coefficients and regression models were used in order to examine the relations between all variables and test the research hypothesis derived from the process-based model of policing.

Findings: The analyses showed that procedural fairness of the police has the largest impact on police legitimacy. Furthermore, the attitude towards procedural justice has the strongest influence on the students’ trust in the police. Less equivocal are the connections between police legitimacy and cooperation with the police. Regression models proved only the influences of police effectiveness and an obligation to obey the law on the willingness to cooperate with the police.

Practical Implications: The results of the study can offer recommendations for the Polish police, which may be a starting point for promoting fair and just practices, as well as for improving cooperation with the police and other law-related behaviour.

Originality/Value: The current study extends prior research in two ways. First, the presented research significantly contributes to a growing body of literature that tests the process-based model of a policing hypothesis in research settings outside the United States of America. Second, this study may lead to the redefining of the concept of (police) legitimacy.