SOCIETY of Professor Sarah Charman , Professor of Criminology at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice .
Professor Charman ’ s ‘ Policing the Pandemic ’ project involves a team of seven researchers with different research backgrounds – sociology , forensic science , geography , data analysis , and expertise with interviews and public surveys .
“ We have a forensic innovation centre where many of our students are taught about forensics within policing by both our academic staff and the Hampshire Constabulary ,” Professor Charman says . “ We also have a reciprocal arrangement that promotes research within policing organisations .”
The primary tools for studying the impacts of COVID-19 were direct surveys and interviews with police and public , with 2020 and 2021 producing a lot of data . Additional information was gathered from video diaries kept by some police , analysis of body-worn video footage from police encounters , and focus groups involving senior police .
“ One of the things that a lot of people are concerned about all over the world is the impact of pandemic policing on long-term police-public relationships ,” Professor Charman says .
Enforcement trigger
In many countries , including the UK , policing by consent is the preferred model . This ethos was reflected in UK guidelines to enforcing lockdowns that started out with a ‘ gently , gently ’ approach captured by the four ‘ Es ’: engage , explain , encourage and , finally , enforce .
Yet the COVID-19 regulations imposed on citizens proved anything but consensual and were highly restrictive , says Professor Charman . Midway through the pandemic , encouraged by government , there was a move to ‘ enforce ’ much earlier on .
“ There were a number of ramifications from adopting an enforcement policing style ,” she says .
One is a growing acceptance of authoritarian rule . For example , surveys and interviews with the public found a segment of society that approved of an authoritarian style as a general principle of policing . Analysis , however , found that this call was coming from people who are typically beyond the focus of police .
Professor Charman says there are many reasons to be cautious about a more consistent use of an enforcement approach . This is reflected in a video diary where a police officer recalls attending an obviously illegal gathering of about 30 young people in a house . He was sent out on blue lights , with more police cars following , driving at speed . He recalls young people running from the house and reflecting that this was a strange policing situation .
For Professor Charman it is a cautionary example of overreaction : “ That ’ s the lesson for the future : the need to bring back discretion . What is legitimate is not necessarily the same as what is legal or illegal .”
She cites the example of proposed new legislation that plays on people ’ s fears to justify curbs on the right to protest . It includes vague provisions about noise and unease , especially around climate change protests , with the home secretary allowed to decide what constitutes ‘ serious destruction ’.
“ But we don ’ t want restrictions to extend beyond the pandemic and to restrict our civil rights further than is entirely necessary .”
Police stress
Further , recent research has found that the COVID-19 restrictions were also challenging for police officers , a factor often glossed over in calls for more authoritarian policing .
54 ISSUE 04 / 2022