CGCP COVID-19 Research

People
Ben Bradford, Arabella, Julia, Zoe, Krisztian Posch

Project Summary
This project aims to track people’s views about the laws and restrictions put in place to deal with the COVID-19 crisis (e.g. the lockdown, social distancing), whether people support giving additional powers to the police to fight the pandemic, and crucially, why and whether people comply with the laws and support the police response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal survey on Prolific Academic where we collected data from the same people every three weeks in nine metropolitan areas in the UK and London.

Partner Organisations 
LSE

Planned Outputs & Impact
Blog posts, academic papers, conference presentations, public engagement and knowledge-exchange

Funder
IGCP, LSE

Duration
March 2020 - Open-ended

Links to Outputs / Deliverables
Blogs:

• LSE blog, British Politics and Policy: The lockdown and social norms: why the UK is complying by consent rather than compulsion.
• LSE, Covid-19 blog: What makes Britons trust police to enforce the lockdown fairly?
• RSA: Track, Trace and Trust
• LSE blog, British Politics and Policy: The Cummings row undermines the sense of collective solidarity on which the lockdown relies.
• LSE blog, British Politics and Policy: Public compliance and COVID-19: Did Cummings damage the fight against the virus, or become a useful anti-role model?
• The Conversation: Coronavirus: Survey reveals what the public wants from a contact tracing app.
• UCL JDI COVID-19 Series: Policing the lockdown: compliance, enforcement and procedural justice                                                   

People
Julian Laufs, Zoha Waseem

Project Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of unforeseen and unprecedented challenges for police departments worldwide. In light of these challenges, the goal of this review is to understand the potential short- and long-term effects of disasters and public health emergencies on policing organisations and officers. A total of 72 studies were eligible for inclusion, based on their focus on policing and police work during and in the aftermath of natural disasters and public health emergencies. Through an extensive review, we compile and analyse the most common issues and best practices identified in the literature, and discuss ‘what works’ in the context of policing such emergencies. The literature reveals four categories of issues predominantly raised in this context, namely police-community relations, the mental health and wellbeing of officers, intra-organisational challenges, as well as inter-agency collaboration and cooperation. Based on our review and analysis, we offer a list of recommendations relevant for policing the current COVID-19 outbreak. The findings of this review have immediate implications for policing during COVID-19 but also cover long-term effects, providing valuable recommendations for after the crises has passed.

Planned Outputs & Impact
Academic publication

Funder
May 2020-September 2020

Links to Outputs / Deliverables

• Laufs, J. and Waseem, Z. 2020. Policing a Pandemic: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on law enforcement agencies. Brief 11, UCL Jill Dando Institute, Special Papers on COVID-19.
• Laufs, J., Waseem, Z. (2020). Policing in Pandemics: A systematic review and best practices for police response to COVID-19. The Journal of Disaster Risk Management.

People 
Arabella Kyprianides, Ben Bradford, plus teams at Public Health England, Keele, Sussex and Oxford.

Project Summary
A key goal of the research will be to identify good practices that engender effective multiagency working and the extent to which these empower effective outcomes, particularly harnessing collectivism and solidarity in communities.

Partner Organisations 
Public Health England

Planned Outputs & Impact
We will use this data to produce regular rapid evidence assessments and analyses that will be fed back to our partners at an operational level providing them with briefing papers to help support the ongoing development of good working practices in response to Covid-19. Longer term all evidence collected will be collated and used to inform improved training/guidance for interoperable working in the future.

Funder
UKRI

Links to Outputs / Deliverables

• Kyprianides, A., Stott, C., Beale, M., Savigar-Shaw, L., Radburn, M., Wiggett, I., West, O. (2020). From the Bottom to the Top: Complications in developing local Civil Contingency responses to COVID19. The Municipal Journal.
• Kyprianides, A., Stott, C., Beale, M., Savigar-Shaw, L., Radburn, M., Wiggett, I., West, O. (2020). Policing in the COVID19 space: Authority, legitimacy and adaption in a time of ambiguity. Policing Insight.

People 
Zoha Waseem

Project Summary
This research project qualitatively assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on law enforcement agencies in Pakistan. Interviews for this project are being carried out remotely with officers and civilians across provincial jurisdictions. This research will provide insights and recommendations for law enforcements agencies worldwide

Planned Outputs & Impact
Academic publications, policy reports and blogs.

Funder
United States Institute for Peace