Enforcing the unenforceable: exploring police officer use of discretion in the enforcement of COVID-19 rules and regulations
ABSTRACT 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.