A Comparative Exploration of Perceived Community and Police Adherence to COVID-19 Regulations

Abstract

Based on an early 2020s survey of 3,500 police officers from nine countries, this paper explores perceived community and police adherence to the COVID-19 regulations. We propose that both public and police perceived adherence with the COVID-19 rules are related not only to individual-level factors (e.g., gender, concern for own health) but also to country-level factors (e.g., quality of governance, protection of citizens’ rights). Our findings reveal that individual-level factors, such as the concerns for personal and family health, were strong and consistent predictors of perceived community and police adherence. While misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with the perceived community adherence, it was not related to the perceived police adherence. Moreover, country-level factors, such as the stringency of COVID-19 rules and regulations and the protection of citizens’ rights, were also significantly related to both perceived community and police adherence.

Plain language summary

A comparative exploration of perceived community and police adherence to COVID-19 regulations

Introduction: To curtail the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governments across the world have introduced new legal rules. While existing research reveals that citizens’ individual characteristics may be related to their own willingness to adhere to such rules, to what degree is their willingness to adhere the rules related to their country characteristics? Aim: In this study, we simultaneously study the influence of individual and country characteristics on the perceived citizens’ and police officers’ willingness to follow the COVID-19 rules. Method: In early 2020, we carried out surveys of police officers in nine countries. Because these 3,500 police officers nested within countries, we use multilevel modeling to assess the relative strength of both individual characteristics and country characteristics on the respondents’ perceived adherence to the COVID-19 rules. Results: The surveyed police officers who had health-related concerns and personal fear of contracting the COVID-19 were more likely to say that they and the local community would adhere to the governmental rules and regulations. The police officers who believed in the misinformation about the COVID-19 were also more likely to believe that the community members would adhere to the COVID-19 rules. In the countries in which their governments introduced more severe COVID-19 rules, officers reported that they would be more likely to adhere to the rules and that their community would do the same. In contrast, in the countries in which citizen rights are protected and praised, police officers reported lower levels of their own and community adherence to pandemic rules and regulations. What do the findings mean: When scholars try to understand why people obey the law and legal rules, they should simultaneously include measures of the respondents’ individual characteristics and characteristics of the environment in which respondents live.