The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by police during a public health crisis: An experimental test of public perception

Public assessments of police during the COVID-19 pandemic: the effects of procedural justice and personal protective equipment

“…We also find an additive effect for items of PPE, such that an increase in the total number of items of PPE used by the officer is often associated with greater perceptions of procedural justice. Interestingly enough, these findings extend to the medical gloves and full-face respirator mask combination, the latter item of which has traditionally been perceived negatively due to its potential relationship with police militarization (Simpson and Sandrin, 2021). This particular finding underscores the importance of context: although this mask may be perceptually problematic in many contexts, it may be justified during a pandemic given its effectiveness in combatting the spread of the virus.…”

“…In this vein, it is the police’s widespread use of PPE that has allowed them to continue to be able to interact with the public. In fact, the police’s use of PPE in their routine activities “may actually be one of the most visible and perceptually salient changes to the criminal justice system induced by the pandemic” (Simpson and Sandrin, 2021, p. 21). And, although the functional benefits of PPE for combatting the spread of the virus are well recognized, it is through these parallels that our findings suggest the importance of PPE’s perceptual benefits.…”

“…While the police have adopted this traditionally medical equipment primarily for its functional benefits (i.e. to mitigate the risks of the virus; see CDC, 2020; Chu et al , 2020; Cook, 2020; WHO, 2020a, b), recent research has also found PPE to present perceptual benefits (Simpson and Sandrin, 2021). Provided that changes to the aesthetics of police can impact perceptions of officers (e.g.…”

“…CDC, 2020; Chu et al , 2020; Cook, 2020; WHO, 2020a, b) and perception (e.g. Simpson and Sandrin, 2021). However, no known research has examined the combined effects of procedural justice and PPE on public assessments of police responsibility and performance during the pandemic.…”

“…Although a growing body of literature has begun to examine policing during this public health crisis (e.g. see Ashby, 2020; Bennett and Mazerolle, 2020; Farrow, 2020; Jennings and Perez, 2020; Jones, 2020; McCarthy et al , 2021; Nix et al , 2021; Sargeant et al , 2021; Simpson and Sandrin, 2021; White and Fradella, 2020), many questions remain about public assessments of police responsibility and performance during the pandemic. In order to help address this gap in the literature, we employ procedural justice, a well-trodden paradigm from past scholarly works, to examine factors that drive public assessments of police during the pandemic.…”