Assessing the role of COVID-19 stressors on perceptions of police misconduct in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The current study applies the key components of GST to explore the relationship between stress and misconduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the answers provided by a sample of 480 police officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and discovered that the relationship between strain and willingness to engage in police misconduct during the pandemic is complex; not all types of stressors were related to all forms of police misconduct included in our study. The two strongest organizational stressors were perceptions that the police agency was ineffective in dealing with the pandemic and that there was a lack of personal protective equipment for police officers. Fear for their own personal health, fear of COVID-19, and concerns that COVID-19 is much more dangerous than the flu were significant personal stressors related to their willingness to engage in police misconduct. Police's own willingness not to wear a mask and to visit friends and family with whom they do not live decreased the perception that the community is not adhering to the COVID-19 rules and regulations. Living with a partner was also negatively associated with the respondents’ willingness to engage in misconduct.