Exploring Police Officer Use of Discretion in the Enforcement of COVID-19 Rules and Regulations

• In Event: Navigating the Covid-19 Pandemic and Calls for Reform: Police Perceptions and Responses

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments largely relied on the police to enforce laws and COVID-19 regulations. But little is known regarding officers’ willingness—or their use of discretion—in the enforcement of such rules. The current study draws on a sample of 9,212 police officers from 11 distinct countries across the globe and examines how perceived public adherence, police agency’s support, and officers’ work attitudes, among other factors collaboratively influence their frequency of enforcing COVID-19 rules when encountering violations. We also examined cross-country variations in officer enforcement of such rules. We find curious and contradictory evidence regarding the effectiveness of police departmental changes, fear of contracting the coronavirus, officer work attitudes, and officer gender on their reported likelihood to “do nothing,” “issue advice,” “issue tickets,” or “make arrests.”

Authors

• Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic, Michigan State University

• Yang Vincent Liu, Michigan State University

• Marijana Kotlaja, University of Missouri-Kansas City

• Yuning Wu, Wayne State University

• Ivan Sun, University of Delaware