Public perception of police behaviors in the disaster COVID-19 – The case of Serbia

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of the study is to determine the perception of general public on the Serbian police behaviors in combating COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the perception of the citizens how successful the police units were in fulfilling their tasks.Design/methodology/approachDue to the state of emergency declared due to COVID-19 pandemic, in particular the restriction of movement and the need for social distance, the data collection for this study had to be conducted via the online survey platform (Google.doc). The study was conducted during March–April 2020, only four weeks after the state of emergency was declared. The participants were invited to complete the online questionnaire in their native language by using the snowball sampling strategy focused on recruiting the general public via social media tools.FindingsConsidering the fact that police officers are not sufficiently prepared and trained to respond in these specific circumstances, it is necessary to improve their engagement in the future by conducting appropriate training, procuring adequate resources, implementing adequate planning activities, etc. The results of the multivariate regressions of public perception preparedness subscale show that the most important predictor is gender and it explains 23.6% of the variance in preparedness subscale. The remaining variables did not have significant effects on preparedness. This model with all mentioned independent variables explains 6.1% of the variance of preparedness subscale.Originality/valueBearing in mind that there were no completed studies on public perception of police behaviors about the COVID-19 disaster in Serbia, the research has a considerable scientific and social importance.

A Predictive Model of Pandemic Disaster Fear Caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19): Implications for Decision-Makers

“…When the pandemic first broke out in Serbia, the first action was to restrict all border crossings with neighboring countries, as had been done in other European countries. Citizens who obtained a self-isolation order or an epidemiologist’s order due to COVID-19 concerns or suspicions of contact with a sick person were required to stay at home for 14 or 28 days [ 84 ]. According to official data (updated on 12 September 2021) of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia, Dr Milan Jovanović Batut of the WHO stated that the total numbers infected were 1,270,407, hospitalized 3511, the number of people on respirators 197, the total number of deaths 12,075, mortality rate 0.95% and the total number tested 6,941,684 [ 85 ].…”

The long-term effects of policing the COVID-19 pandemic: Public attitudes toward the police in the ‘new normal’

“…The researchers found a rise in trust in the police and the government during the lockdown, concluding that these ‘effects are consistent with the concept of “rallying around the flag”’ ( Sibley et al , 2020 , p. 626). In Serbia, Janković and Cvetković (2020) conducted an online survey 4 weeks after the state of emergency was declared. They found that even when participants perceived the police as being underprepared for the crisis, their trust in the police was high.…”

Policing the COVID-19 pandemic: Police and public perceptions of enforcement of health protocols in the Fiji Islands

“…There are only a few studies that have examined the public's view of how well the police performed their new COVID-19 duties (Caluori & Clements, 2020;Janković & Cvetković, 2020;Laufs & Waseem, 2020;Wallace et al, 2022). For instance, Janković and Cvetković (2020) conducted an online survey of public perceptions of the Serbian police during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the public was happy with police performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”