A Global Study of Police Administrators’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Organizational Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study expands the developing body of literature examining the effect of the policing organizational and operational changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from 250 police administrators from 29 countries worldwide, we explore police executives' perceived effectiveness of various organizational and operational changes made to keep their officers and the community safe. Specifically, we look at organizational and operational changes, changes recommended by public health experts (i.e., the World Health Organization), officers' adherence to the new rules and regulations, and the effect of COVID-19 death and infection rates. The results largely show that police administrators' perceptions of effectiveness were in-line with risk avoidance and risk mitigation strategies. However, not all variables exerted the anticipated effect. The implications for police administrators and further research are discussed.