Prevalence and correlates of spitting on police officers: New risks in the COVID era

Strote, Jared; Warner, Joey; Scales, Robert M.; Hickman, Matthew

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110747

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…There have been anecdotal media reports of officers being spit at and coughed on by assailants claiming that they are infected with the coronavirus (e.g. Deak, 2020; Farzan and Bella, 2020; see also Strote et al ., 2021 for an overview of the occupational hazards and prevalence of spitting on police officers during use of force incidents).…”

Section: The Impact Of Covid-19 On American Law Enforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cops and COVID: an examination of California officers' perceptions and experiences while policing during a pandemic

Shjarback

Magny

2021

PIJPSM

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PurposeUsing online survey data from a sample of 440 police officers in California throughout May 2020, the current study collected time-sensitive information on officers' perceptions and departmental experiences in the wake of the pandemic. It examined officers' perceptions of agency responsivity as well as their perceptions of morale, stress and risk following agency responses and changes in policy patterns, service delivery innovations and other administrative challenges.Design/methodology/approachCOVID-19 had a tremendous impact on the law enforcement community, who continued to work and adapt in order to provide public safety. During the first few months of the pandemic, a number of national data collection efforts set out to understand what police agencies, at the organizational-level, were doing to address the crisis. Largely missing from these initial discussions were the perspectives of individual officers, particularly how they felt about their respective departments ensuring safety and balancing risk.FindingsResults from ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions found that the number of departmental changes made in the wake of COVID-19 that reduced police–public contact was associated with (1) increased levels of perceived agency responsivity to officer needs (i.e. balancing officer safety, taking active steps to maintain officers' mental health) and (2) reduced levels of perceived negative outlook (e.g. stress, low morale, danger/risk). Policy implications and the importance of police executives' decisions during crisis are discussed.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to examine perceptions of policing during the pandemic from an individual officer point of view rather than an organizational standpoint.

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Section: The Impact Of Covid-19 On American Law Enforcementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cops and COVID: an examination of California officers' perceptions and experiences while policing during a pandemic

Shjarback

Magny

2021

PIJPSM

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“…Though COVID weaponisation is not specific to the UK and has been reported in several other countries throughout the pandemic (Ackerman and Peterson, 2020;De Camargo, 2021c;Drew and Martin, 2020;Ong and Azman, 2020;Strote et al, 2021), this is the first study to scope the size of the issue and empirically examine the link between COVID weaponisation and the psychological wellbeing of police officers in England and Wales.…”

Section: Summary Of Findings and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

COVID-19, distress and potential trauma exposure in the police service of England and Wales: A mixed method approach

Elliott-Davies¹

2022

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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This study provides an initial exploration into the impact of COVID-19 on the exposure of police officers to potentially traumatic events and their subsequent impacts on wellbeing. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from over twelve thousand rank-and-file officers across England and Wales in Autumn 2020, via an online survey. The results not only identify several frequently experienced COVID-related duties and events that are potentially detrimental to officer wellbeing; but that these exposures are related to an officer’s rank and role. These results offer valuable information that may help forces target key resources towards those that need it most.

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“…Definitions can be dynamic and change focus to suit particular situations or settings (Aijmer, 2020). For example, acts such as spitting and coughing directed at workers are now deemed to be acts of aggression and have been weaponised due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Strote et al , 2021).…”

Section: Understandings Of Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

The “disease” of violence against health-care workers is a wicked problem. Managing and preventing violence in health-care

Jacob

McCann

Buykx

et al. 2021

JACPR

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Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the complexity of understanding and managing violent behaviour in health care. The authors will show how different perceptions of the reasons for violent behaviour, and linkages between violent behaviour and illness have contributed to the creation of a wicked problem and added significant complexity to the management of violence towards staff within health-care settings. This paper will conclude with a call for strong multi-disciplinary action to address this ongoing issue. Design/methodology/approach A narrative review was undertaken to explore the ways that violence has been perceived in health care and the ways in which the concept of violence has moved from being seen as a criminal issue to being within the realms of disease. This paper will show the importance of understanding who is perpetrating violence in health care, why and in what settings. It will expound on the idea that considering violence as a consequence of disease necessarily adds a layer of complexity to both individual and organisational responses to violence towards health-care staff. Findings Understanding the complexity in preventing and managing violence against health-care staff can assist policymakers and managers to develop multi-faceted approaches to violence prevention, including better recognition and understanding of perpetrators of violence. Originality/value This paper provides a unique perspective on thinking about violence in health care and the implications of its complexity.

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Prevalence and correlates of spitting on police officers: New risks in the COVID era

Cited by 8 publications

References 11 publications

Cops and COVID: an examination of California officers' perceptions and experiences while policing during a pandemic

Cops and COVID: an examination of California officers' perceptions and experiences while policing during a pandemic

COVID-19, distress and potential trauma exposure in the police service of England and Wales: A mixed method approach

The “disease” of violence against health-care workers is a wicked problem. Managing and preventing violence in health-care

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