RT Article
T1 A Qualitative Study: An Examination of Police Officers’ Lived Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic
JF International criminal justice review
VO 32
IS 3
SP 308
OP 327
A1 Helfers, Richard C.
A2 Nhan, Johnny
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1809031036
AB In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe prompting stay-at-home orders for all but the most essential workers in society. Policing was one of the professions that is essential for community safety, regardless of the circumstances. Officers were on the front-line of the COVID-19 public health crisis and their preparedness was crucial for officer and community health. During the onset of the pandemic little was known about how officers perceived the virus and how police agencies prepared officers to work in a highly contagious environment. This study used semistructured interviews of police officers in two states in the United States that had elevated cases of the virus. The authors explored the lived experiences of police officers to explore officers’ perceptions, concerns, implications the pandemic had on patrol activity, and agency preparedness during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed structural and cultural forces that resulted in officers and their agency leadership not taking the pandemic seriously, ill-preparation and ill-equipping, and disincentives in reporting exposure. Moreover, officers’ fears were largely not based on their own well-being, but on the risk of spreading the disease to their family members.
K1 Public Health
K1 Covid-19
K1 Pandemic
K1 Policing
DO 10.1177/10575677211050427