Enforcing the unenforceable
Exploring police officer use of discretion in the enforcement of Covid-19 rules and regulations
Bibliographic Data
During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments relied on the police to enforce COVID-19 rules. However, little is known about police enforcement of these norms and use of discretion in this process. The current study draws on a sample of 3,866 police officers from 10 countries across the globe and examines officers’ use of discretion when encountering violations of COVID-19 rules. We assess the relative significance of factors such as the perceptions of community adherence to COVID-19 rules, assessments of the police agency’s support to deal with the pandemic, evaluations of COVID-19 seriousness, and psychological adjustments to the pandemic on police officers’ willingness to react when observing a COVID-19 violation. Our findings highlight the complexity of officer responses to violations of rules, which include not only enforcement actions such as giving advice and warning, issuing tickets, and making arrests, but also non-actions
Business · Discretion · Enforcement · Law enforcement · Officer · Political science · Public relations · Seriousness · Sociology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Medicine · Policing Practices and Perceptions
Policing the Pandemic
Police Discretion Not to Invoke the Criminal Process
Suspect disrespect toward the police
Global prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems in police personnel
Why do ‘the law’ comply? Procedural justice, group identification and officer motivation in police organizations
Mental, Physical, and Behavioral Outcomes Associated With Perceived Work Stress in Police Officers
Where, When, and By Whom
Racial Disparities in the Enforcement of Covid-19 Public Health Violations
Police Officers’ Preferences for Enforcing Covid-19 Regulatory Violations
Policing pandemic in China
The effects of occupational stress on cognitive performance in police officers
Addressing recall bias in (post-)conflict data collection and analysis
Shoot or don't shoot? Why police officers are more inclined to shoot when they are anxious
Policing biosecurity
Job Stress and Performance
Policing Covid-19 through procedural informality in Pakistan
Giving the right service to different people’
Sensitivity to the Ferguson Effect
Organizational stressors and police performance
A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker)
Negative Affective Responses to Stress among Urban Police Officers
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |