Policing pandemics : developing effective policing responses during health emergencies

Karl A. Roberts

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to governments in general and to police in particular. Police have a significant role in a nation's response to a pandemic carrying out a range of important functions. These might include enforcing quarantine, isolation, and travel bans, providing security to medical personnel, protecting and transporting medical equipment, vaccines, and medical samples, providing advice and reassurance to the public, supporting investigations into the source of an outbreak, identifying new cases of disease or who is at risk from it. All these roles will be added to many of the usual policing duties required during a pandemic. There are however many challenges for police in responding to pandemics. They may be required to engage with agencies such as Public Health that they do not normally work with. This can cause difficulties with lack of mutual understanding of processes, policies, and practices and lack of trust between agencies. This chapter explores policing during pandemics, the challenges faced by police and potential solutions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLaw Enforcement and Public Health: Partners for Community Safety and Wellbeing
EditorsIsabelle Bartkowiak-Theron, James Clover, Denise Martin, Richard F. Southby, Nick Crofts
Place of PublicationSwitzerland
PublisherSpringer
Pages243-263
Number of pages21
ISBN (Electronic)9783030839130
ISBN (Print)9783030839123
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Policing pandemics : developing effective policing responses during health emergencies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this