Coronavirus (COVID-19): international policing responses - part 2 - easing of lockdown

Priority Areas for Medium and Longer-term Consideration/Action

• A number of concerns have been highlighted about the risk and possible causes of civil disorder in the medium and long-term, and there is an urgent need to assess the crime and disorder implications of a severe recession and the resources available to the police to manage this
• Continue reviewing the police's use of the emergency powers
• Consider possible effects of lockdown measures on police budgets and staffing
• Consider how police will deal with a deluge of calls (particularly around domestic abuse) following further easing of restrictions, within existing resources
• The enforced circumstances of the pandemic have offered opportunities for how policing could be done, including moving to a more digital way of working and more effective policing of domestic abuse
• Children and young people could be more likely become involved in crime as perpetrators and/or victims in the coming months whilst out of school, with less parental supervision and with police resources diverted elsewhere
• Prepare the police to deal with likely changes in people's working patterns (more home and remote working) and increases in cyber security threats associated with working from home
• Particular types of crime have increased during the outbreak and there are concerns that these will become increasingly problematic after the pandemic. These crimes often take place in the private and virtual realms, making them harder to detect and tackle
• Consider how police interpretation and enforcement of the COVID-19 restrictions will affect public trust in the police and perceptions of their legitimacy, e.g. the policing of protests and high profile cases in the media of how individuals have conducted themselves with regards to the restrictions and how these have been policed
• It will remain key to listen to the public and communicate effectively