Taking the strain? Police well-being in the COVID-19 era

Newiss, Geoff; Charman, Sarah; Ilett, Camille; Bennett, Stephanie; Ghaemmaghami, Aram; Smith, Paul; Inkpen, Robert

doi:10.1177/0032258x211044702

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…The actions of officers and their agencies were viewed by some of these respondent agencies as political acts, rather than as community health efforts taken to protect the officers and those they served. While the sense of defeatism is not present in our data, there is a developing body of research indicating how police officers struggled with the emotional labor (Stogner et al, 2020a, b;Newiss et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 67%

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Documenting variability in operational and organizational experiences related to COVID-19 in Washington state

Makin

Stohr

Unger

et al. 2023

PIJPSM

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PurposeThe paper examines “lessons learned” from the COVID-19 pandemic by capturing the organizational and operational experiences of police departments in the state of Washington across two waves of survey administration. This study is among the first to document experiences at a state level, affording an opportunity to compare national results and allowing for documenting shifts between each wave.Design/methodology/approachThis study draws from a state-specific replication of the IACP instrument fielded by Lum et al. (2020a) on the experiences of police departments working under COVID-19 and integrates specific questions from stakeholders in Washington. The survey was administered through Qualtrics, which was distributed by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) 6 months into the pandemic and 18-months later.FindingsRespondents reported operational and organizational reconfigurations including shifting to telecommuting for support staff and command staff, implementing online reporting forms for use by the public to report crimes and planning exercises for predicted budget reductions. While CDC and Washington Department of Health guidelines informed most of the respondents' policy, integrating that policy into the operational procedures demonstrated how quickly issues in staffing can transition from a challenge to a severe issue. Quarantining and staffing problems remained an issue across both waves, which were exasperated by staff turnover.Research limitations/implicationsThe response rate and response completeness, particularly a drop in response for Wave 2, limit the ability to supply more precise estimates documenting the experiences of WA police departments. Relatedly, an inability to match Wave 1 to Wave 2 results inhabits a direct comparison of changes 12-months later. Second, the responses reflect those of the chief law enforcement officer (Chief of Police, Sheriff) or the person designated by the chief, which may not represent the experiences of front-line officers.Practical implicationsReflecting on the lessons learned across each Wave, agencies shared adaptations implemented to better protect the health of staff and their communities to effectively manage future health emergencies. Most directly, they learned how to conduct some business remotely and the necessity to innovate. The most important lesson learned, and implication for policy is improving the resourcing and logistics to secure adequate health protections. The data also highlight a concern for clarity, consistency, and credibility in supplying information to police departments in pandemic and emergency situations.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to enhance “lessons learned” for police response in pandemic and emergency situations. These data supply insight into the anticipated and lived experiences of agencies adapting to the pandemic in Washington State. The endogenous and exogenous shock that is COVID-19 altered how police departments interacted externally and internally resulting in operational and organizational reconfigurations.

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Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…While the sense of defeatism is not present in our data, there is a developing body of research indicating how police officers struggled with the emotional labor (Stogner et al. , 2020a, b; Newiss et al ., 2022).…”

Section: Discussion and Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Documenting variability in operational and organizational experiences related to COVID-19 in Washington state

Makin

Stohr

Unger

et al. 2023

PIJPSM

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“…Further, government legislation, which purports to minimize operational harms and enhance decision-making (e.g., Coronavirus Act, 2020 ) potentially hinders emergency response decision-making, as there has been minimal public and parliamentary scrutiny (Laufs and Waseem, 2020 ). Notwithstanding this, there is also little guidance and support to effectively respond and resolve complex taskings (e.g., Stanier and Nunan, 2021 ; Ghaemmaghami et al, 2021 ; Newiss et al, 2021 ), hindering effective decision-making capabilities, as the operational landscapes remains uncertain. Whilst it was recommended in the CCA that emergency response organizations amend their strategic response styles (e.g., Bonkiewicz and Ruback, 2012 ), it is unclear to what extent multi-agency systems and emergency response personnel can adapt their style of response.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a broader context, current challenges faced by emergency responders, such as the response to COVID-19 (Stevens, 2020 ; Ghaemmaghami et al, 2021 ; Newiss et al, 2021 ; Stanier and Nunan, 2021 ) and right wing and domestic terrorism (e.g., Smith and Barrett, 2019 ; Hayes, 2021 ), have continued to stretch operational capabilities beyond operational policy, practice, and procedure (House et al, 2014 ; Cohen-Hatton et al, 2015 ; Power and Alison, 2017 ; Alison et al, 2018 ). For example, key decision-makers in-situ of critical incidents have often struggled to commit to choice when presented with competing and often unreliable information (Power and Alison, 2017 ; Smith and Milne, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying challenges to critical incident decision-making through a macro-, meso-, and micro- lens: A systematic synthesis and holistic narrative analysis

et al. 2023

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It is predicted that emergency responses to critical incidents will increase over the next few decades, as society faces unique and dynamic challenges (e.g., pandemics, migrant crises, and terrorism). As such, it is necessary to breakdown, identify, and evaluate the unique barriers associated with decision-making in the context of critical incident responses. The aim of the current study was to synthesize the bibliographic characteristics of the research on decision making and present a holistic narrative analysis of the multi-layered factors. Additionally, the systematic synthesis of evidence facilitated a critical appraisal of the quality and distribution of evidence across macro-, meso-, and micro- levels. Results suggested that research was moderately heterogeneous, as evidence captured diverse narrative factors. However, micro-centric characteristics (e.g., cognitive-related factors) were not well represented. Instead, research primarily focused toward intermediate meso-level characteristics, capturing factors such as “interoperability” and “organization policy and procedure” as critical challenges to decision-making. Six key narratives were also identified and discussed. Both the quality appraisal and narrative findings suggested that research should seek opportunities to experimentally assess, evaluate and validate decision-making. Whilst this has previously appeared ethically and practically problematic, advances in technology, research and analysis have allowed high-fidelity simulation experimentation to recreate critical incidents.

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“…The COVID-19 crisis went on to have a profound effect on policing in the United Kingdom (UK) and beyond ( Maskály et al, 2021 ). However, even before the current public health crisis, the contemporary policing environment had been identified as particularly challenging; one of seemingly constant organisational change and reform, coupled with increasing public demand and media scrutiny ( Newiss et al, 2021 ). Historically identified as an occupation that is extremely stressful and exacting under normal circumstances, Collins and Gibbs (2003) highlight that alongside everyday operational stressors, internal organisational issues often compound police officers’ stress; directly impacting upon their sense of wellbeing, mental health and resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Policing the pandemic: Frontline officers’ perspectives on organisational justice

Martin

Leslie

Graham

2022

International Journal of Police Science & Management

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Much of the literature on the policing of the coronavirus pandemic reflects research that has been extra-organisationally focused, examining the prospective impact of the police approach to applying the public health legislation on relationships with the public and the potential impact on police legitimacy. Less research has been intra-organisationally focused; investigating the potential affect on police officers of policing during an extraordinary public health crisis, which has required them to navigate an ambiguous and constantly fluctuating legislative and policy landscape that has driven significant changes to internal working practices and operational procedures within their organisational environment. Using original empirical data from a small multi-method study within one Division of a United Kingdom police force, we examined the issue from an organisational justice perspective; exploring perceptions of intra-organisational fairness, and how these may have directly impacted upon the responses of frontline officers during the pandemic. We argue that in this period, both organisational processes and their resultant outcomes did not meet normative expectations, as they discriminated against officers with public-facing (frontline) roles. This directly impacted upon the officers’ experience of the ‘organisational climate’. The resulting sense of organisational injustice felt by frontline officers reduced their morale, impacted upon relationships with senior officers, and nurtured feelings that they were not being treated with respect, dignity and trust. We conclude by discussing the potential implications of the study for police organisations and their leaders, outlining opportunities for organisational learning and consider the need for the development of policy that complements notions of organisational justice.

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Taking the strain? Police well-being in the COVID-19 era

Cited by 18 publications

References 22 publications

Documenting variability in operational and organizational experiences related to COVID-19 in Washington state

Documenting variability in operational and organizational experiences related to COVID-19 in Washington state

Identifying challenges to critical incident decision-making through a macro-, meso-, and micro- lens: A systematic synthesis and holistic narrative analysis

Policing the pandemic: Frontline officers’ perspectives on organisational justice

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