write a paper on the psychology of COVID-19.(suicide)

Your writing assignment must include the following:

APA Style format/writing

4 Pages: Page 1-cover page, Page 2 & 3-content, Page 4-Refrences Minimum of 1 reference

APA or MLA Style (this means essay style)

Times New Roman

12-Point Font

Double Spaced

Police Stress, Mental Health, and Resiliency
during the COVID-19 Pandemic

John Stogner1 & Bryan Lee Miller2 & Kyle McLean2

Received: 5 June 2020 /Accepted: 12 June 2020 /
Published online: 26 June 2020
# Southern Criminal Justice Association 2020

Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created social upheaval and altered norms for all members of
society, but its effects on first responders have been particularly profound. Law
enforcement officers have been expected to coordinate local shutdowns, encourage
social distancing, and enforce stay-at-home mandates all while completing the respon-
sibilities for which they are already understaffed and underfunded. The impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on officer stress, mental health, resiliency, and misconduct is
explored drawing insight from reactions to the HIV epidemic over two decades earlier
and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. COVID-19 policing is hypothesized to
serve as a significant stressor for officers and compound the general and organizational
stress associated with the occupation. Avenues for providing officer support are
discussed and recommendations for research into the phenomenon presented.

Keywords COVID-19 . Policing . Police . Law enforcement . Stress . Coronavirus

Policing is one of the most mentally taxing occupations contending with long and often
rotating shifts, threats of violence, increased need for hypervigilance, and a lack of
public support creating chronic stress (Hartley, Burchfiel, Fekedulegn, Andrew, &
Violanti, 2011; McCraty & Atkinson, 2012; Paoline, 2003; Terrill, Paoline, &
Manning, 2003). As a result, law enforcement officers suffer from mental health
problems at a rate greater than the general population even before dealing with added
pandemic challenges, stress, and uncertainty (Hartley et al., 2011). Mental health
problems among law enforcement personnel are associated with work environment,
agency culture, inconsistent shift scheduling, and presumably higher exposure to

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09548-y

* John Stogner
johnstogner@uncc.edu

1 Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of North Carolina at Charlotte,
Charlotte, NC, USA

2 Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice, Clemson University, Clemson,
SC, USA

http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s12103-020-09548-y&domain=pdf

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2821-1494

mailto:johnstogner@uncc.edu

traumatic events and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Brown &
Campbell, 1990; Collins & Gibbs, 2003; Crank & Caldero, 1991; Marmar et al.,
2006). Consequently, law enforcement officers are more likely than the general
population to suffer from depression, experience familial strife, misuse alcohol, and
attempt suicide (Wang et al., 2010; Rees & Smith, 2008; Menard & Arter, 2013). These
negative coping behaviors can hinder officer resiliency in the wake of traumatic
incidents. They also have the potential to impair reactions to large-scale social and
occupational changes induced by anomic conditions which place increased demands
for a wide range of law enforcement services.

The sudden disruption of American society resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is
particularly concerning as it may impact police mental health at a time when they are most
needed by the public. Law enforcement officers are not immune from the stress that
COVID-19 placed on the general population. In fact, they are likely more heavily
impacted as they are one of the “essential workers” that must continue to work and
respond to calls for service while others shelter at home. As first responders normally and
more so during the shutdown, they may experience increased stress risk due to the
prolonged threat of virus exposure and stay-at-home ordinance compliance enforcement.
Compounding normal risk factors, COVID-19 social distancing policies have resulted in
numerous changes and alterations in protocols including requirements to wear personal
protection equipment (PPE), altered patrolling routines, and changes to shift schedules and
work hours that drive workplace stress. In addition to the direct impact of the COVID- 19
pandemic on officer wellbeing, law enforcement is likely to experience increased high-
stress encounters with individuals suffering from mental health problems aggravated by
fear of contagion, economic uncertainty, resource shortages, and isolation. First re-
sponders may react more strongly to a crisis such as COVID-19 due to their responsibility
for maintaining public safety, risk of exposure through interactions with the community,
and the concern of exposing family members to the virus.

COVID-19’s Likely Impact on Officer Stress Extrapolated
through Historical Context

COVID-19 refers to the infectious disease that results from a novel coronavirus that
was not identified until an outbreak in Wuhan, China in December of 2019.
Pathogens in the coronavirus family may cause acute respiratory infections and
difficulty breathing. The illness resulting from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is
marked by respiratory symptoms (congestion, cough, difficulty breathing) as well
as hyperthermia and exhaustion. COVID-19 effects seem to be exacerbated by
underlying conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiopathy. At the time
of writing, COVID-19 has infected over 6 million people including 1.7 million in
the United States (WHO, 2020). COVID-19 has spread quickly as interpersonal
transmission can occur through respiratory droplets and contaminated surfaces. As
a result, many jurisdictions have enacted stay-at-home orders, limited work to
essential functions, and created social distancing directives. These decisions have
seemingly slowed the spread of COVID-19; still, over 350,000 have died due to
complications connected to the illness including over 100,000 Americans (WHO,
2020). These figures are projected to double by the end of July, 2020.

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 719

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic impact on policing strategies and mental health in
criminal justice settings is matched in magnitude by only a limited number of events in
the past century. As research on COVID-19 and the interrelated public policy and
health ramifications of both the disease and the coordinated response is still in its
infancy, reference to earlier crises that significantly altered law enforcement practices,
namely the start of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s and the attacks of September 11,
2001, provide reference context. These previous large-scale distressing events affected
perceptions of safety, job stress, and standard practices of law enforcement officers
including the need to address traumatized members of the public. The COVID-19
pandemic is likely to also affect these domains, but the form of those effects may be
distinct per the unknown nature and already comparatively longer duration of the
pandemic than some prior national traumatic events.

One of the closest analogies to the current law enforcement climate is the spread of
HIV in the 1980s. While HIV is manageable today, uncertainty reigned three decades
ago. Law enforcement officers were tasked with enforcing policies in an environment
of misunderstood risk. Flavin (1998) describes a pervasive fear of HIV among officers
who generally overestimated their occupational risk. A perceived inability to manage
HIV risk intensified fear (Jermier, Gaines, & McIntosh, 1989). Officers of that era had
limited and evolving information about transmission (Leinen, 1993), much like those
policing during the height of COVID-19. Perhaps law enforcement officers today are
not dissuaded from assisting injured citizens proximate to the prior fear of contracting
HIV, but encounters with the public no doubt generate similar stress as reports already
describe officers dying after contracting COVID-19. Thompson and Marquart’s (1998)
study indicated that HIV risk was a significant stressor among law enforcement officers
although training diminished these concerns while Robinson, Sigman, and Wilson
(1997) suggest it may have contributed to PTSD among officers. Assuming policing
prior to heightened understanding of HIV serves as a valid analogy for law enforcement
stress during COVID-19, it is clear that an exploration of how COVID-19 has affected
officer stress and behavior is warranted. Similarly, officers may benefit from increased
resources directed towards assisting them and their family with stress management
during this time of crisis.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 also may serve as reference for how
broader world issues impact officer stress throughout the country. Following the attack
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, numerous police and other first re-
sponders risked their safety and rushed into unknown danger to assist the public.
Similar results from samples of these heroes indicate mental health concerns resulted
from this service. One-third of the officers responding from the Arlington County
Police Department reported significantly heightened post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) symptoms years after responding to the Pentagon (Robbers & Jenkins,
2005). Over 20% of New York responders reported PTSD symptoms with 5.4%
reaching diagnostic thresholds over four years after the attack; 40% of these officers
reported needing mental healthcare (Pietrzak et al., 2012). Suicidal ideation among
officers also increased (Violanti, Castellano, O’Rourke, & Paton, 2006). However, that
day’s event affected stress levels of officers beyond these locations. Studies demon-
strate increases in police stress in other cities in the year following the incident as well
as a shifting of perceived major sources of stress. Whereas data collected prior to 9/11
reported that harming a civilian and the safety of fellow officers were prime concerns/

720 American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730

stresses, data from similar respondents collected a year after 9/11 indicated that police
felt dealing with terrorist or hate groups and being prepared for riots were foremost
among their concerns (Stevens, 2004). Further, the attacks prompted numerous orga-
nizational changes within police forces which exacerbated stress (Marks & Sun, 2007).

Terrorist threats may not on the surface appear an apt comparison for a viral
pathogen like COVID-19, but the psychological connection is clear. Both are invisible
dangers; officers can no more see the intention of citizens than they can SARS-CoV-2
which causes COVID-19. In each case, threats can come from anywhere – the person
with the bulging backpack standing in front of the museum could be carrying a bomb or
the person clearing their throat could be showing the initial signs of a COVID-19
infection. Each concern requires hypervigilance as one exposure, or one missed threat,
can be deadly for a large number of citizens. In each situation, there has been distrust
for organizations providing data. Police viewed limited information from federal
sources as a source of stress following the 9/11 attacks (Stevens, 2004) and the integrity
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization
have been challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic. This analogy also provides
context to expect that the COVID-19 pandemic may disproportionately affect stress
levels of women in law enforcement as large gender differences in police stress resulted
from 9/11 (Bowler et al., 2010). It also suggests that strong social integration may
minimize occupational stress and mental health issues resulting from COVID-19 as
officers that were better connected to others were less affected by terrorist threats and
showed greater resiliency (Schwarzer, Bowler, & Cone, 2014).

Policing in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Occupational Stressors

Reactions of the law enforcement community to COVID-19 thus far have been near
ubiquitous. Efforts were made to procure and utilize protective personal equipment
(PPE) and officers have encouraged and enforced social distancing. Depending on the
size of the agency and the available resources, police departments have marked off
briefing rooms with spots for officers to sit six feet away from each other or even held
briefings outside – where the virus is thought to be less likely to spread. Discretion
when dealing with the public is at a premium as is avoiding physical proximity in
situations where a response or arrest can be avoided. For example, many urban
agencies have instructed officers to conduct fewer traffic stops and avoid unnecessary
interpersonal interactions (Mohler et al., 2020). Overall, calls for service may have
slightly decreased during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (Campedelli, Aziani,
& Favarin, 2020; Mohler et al., 2020), but certain offenses have been increasingly
reported including vandalism and domestic violence (Mohler et al., 2020) as well as
theft of medical equipment (Hulett, 2020). Though service calls may have decreased
per shelter-in-place guidelines, the burden on individual officers ostensibly increases as
indicated by over 1000 virus cases within the NYPD – 15% of the workforce reporting
being sick and unavailable to serve (ABC, 2020).

In addition to carrying the burden for stricken colleagues, COVID-19 presented
officers with novel and exacerbated stressors. First, they were expected to implement
new policies to ensure social distancing while stay-at-home directives were challenged
on political, economic, and legal grounds. As the agents of new and unpopular

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 721

restrictions, officers may have experienced additional anxiety and disapproval from the
citizenry served (Shirzad, Abbasi Farajzadeh, Hosseini Zijoud, & Farnoosh, 2020).
Second, they were required to adapt existing practices to “virus reality.” Community
and offender programs, service call responses, and patrol practices had to be adapted to
limit exposure and ensure enough officers remained healthy to maintain public safety.
These adaptations, oft centered on limiting interpersonal contact, potentially created
cognitive dissonance in instances where officers avoided serving the public or making a
minor arrest to limit their own exposure. Third, agencies clearly suffered from short-
ages in PPE. Panic following COVID-19’s spread cleared masks, gloves, sanitizer and
other needed supplies from inventory. Officers likely experienced stress through the
limited availability of PPE or by using items they understood to be needed by the
general public. The lack of these resources, per the extension of the logic of a general
resource shortfall, is more problematic in disadvantaged rural areas. Fourth, the
COVID-19 pandemic itself was a traumatic event, presenting consistent risk of bodily
harm and requiring officers to be increasingly hypervigilant of their own environment.
The daily exposure to stress, safety protocols, and social distancing policies may have
limited their capacity to engage in positive coping strategies.

The threat of COVID-19 and the challenges of social distancing policies presents a
particular problem for small rural law enforcement agencies. These groups have fewer
resources and are less likely to employ individuals that specialize in health policy,
mental health management, and information distribution to guide both the workforce
and population it serves through the pandemic. Large, urban agencies have partnered
together to share information during the coronavirus pandemic through the Police
Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Daily COVID-19 Reports (https://www.
policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily) and resources like the American Society for
Evidence-Based Policing’s (ASEBP) COVID Portal for sharing response strategies
and new policies (https://www.americansebpcovid.org/). While rural agencies can also
gain access to these resources, their smaller size means they are less likely to have
officers with connections to these organizations.

Law enforcement training in rural agencies is also likely less dynamic and adaptive to
developing needs. Larger workforces allow training that has smaller incremental costs and
there is specialization of activities. Thus, an emerging issue, like the need to adapt to a global
viral pandemic is likely to put a disproportionate strain on officers in rural jurisdictions with
ritualistic agency culture. Their organizational size limits leverage for acquiring resources
such as personal protective equipment and tools to enforce social distancing protocols.
Further, it may hinder the resiliency and the adaptation of existing programs to the evolving
needs of citizens during windows of social upheaval. The pandemic paired with limited
training and resources to deal with its consequences are likely to have an extensive and long-
term impact on rural law enforcement officer mental health.

While rural jurisdictions may lack the resources and specialized work forces that can
assist with reactivity to a threat like COVID-19, urban areas are disproportionately the
site of protests, riots, and social unrest during a period of extreme stress. Tension
related to stay-at-home orders escalated throughout the early stages of the pandemic
with many citizens becoming concerned about the financial repercussions of lock-
downs. Large groups descended on state capitals and other large cities to protest for the
opportunity to work and earn an income. This created a demand for law enforcement to
manage potentially violent groups without curtailing their First Amendment rights.

722 American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730

https://doi.org/https://www.policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily

https://doi.org/https://www.policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily

https://doi.org/https://www.policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily

Ensuring safety during large scale protest is generally a stressful challenge but is
enhanced during a viral pandemic. Law enforcement was responsible for both provid-
ing a presence to deter violent and unruly behavior, but also to encourage social
distancing and use of face masks and other protective wear—an unprecedented dual
responsibility. Further, racial tension towards police escalated during the pandemic due
to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of officers in Kentucky
and Minnesota, respectively. Urban centers drew crowds protesting, rioting, and
looting; officers in large agencies became both the focus of acrimony and responsible
for ensuring unruly crowds’ safety from a viral threat.

Proliferation and Extension of COVID-19 Stress in Law Enforcement

While not intended to describe the behavior of police, Slocum’s (2010) exploration of
behavioral continuity in the context of strain theories provides a framework for how the
COVID-19 may influence officer stress, mental health, and performance long after any
vaccine is introduced. First, Slocum (2010) describes the negative impact of past and existing
stressors on individuals’ ability to deal with new stressors and challenges. A reasonable
inference would be that officers dealing with stressors associated with COVID-19 response
are less ready to deal with new stressors. While COVID-19 policing stressors may impair
officers’ functions from a psychological perspective, the omnipresent stress of policing during
an uncertain pandemic is likely to impact neurotransmitter and stress hormone levels resulting
in increased susceptibility to stress and overreactions (e.g., Fishbein, 2001). Put simply,
dealing with evolving regulations, ever-changing departmental policies, enforcing unpopular
shutdowns, and the fear of contracting COVID-19 likely diminish officers’ ability to deal
with the numerous other stresses that characterize their profession.

Second, Slocum’s (2010) stress proliferation arguments can be applied to COVID-
19 policing in both primary and secondary forms. Dealing with COVID-related
demands and uncertainty itself presents as a source of stress, but also clearly exacer-
bates other job stressors that may impact mental health. Dealing with an unruly citizen
becomes increasingly challenging due to social distancing expectations and protective
gear. Another example of primary proliferation is COVID-19 affecting shift schedules
and work rotations in an atypical manner (meant to minimize the chance of numerous
officers being infected at once), when inconsistent work schedules already serve as a
significant source of officer stress and fatigue. Secondary stress proliferation also likely
occurs in situations where COVID-19 policing precautions affect family life. Officers
exposed to the public may have chosen to avoid extended contact with family in case
they contracted COVID-19 and be limited in their options to cope with stress in the
manner they did prior to COVID-19. Thus, COVID-19 policing potentially impacts
officer stress in domains outside of the work, intensifying the potential need for stress
management and mental health assistance.

Police Productivity in the Midst of a Pandemic

While COVID-19’s largest impact on policing has likely been on organizational
protocols and officer mental health, the stress endured during the pandemic has likely

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 723

had a deleterious effect on officer productivity, efficiency, and ability to perform social
outreach functions. Moon and Jonson (2012) indicate that officer stress is inversely linked
to job commitment—those that experience more job-related stress are less committed to
their position as a law enforcement officers. Wolfe, Rojek, Manjarrez, and Rojek (2018)
similarly found that uncertainty over the future of policing was a significant factor in
understanding officers’ job satisfaction. An extended increase in stress, as well as uncer-
tainty surrounding the future of policing, during the COVID-19 pandemic likely impacted
the dedication and resiliency of current officers. Further, job stressors directly impact
performance indicators (Shane, 2010) suggesting that COVID-19 may have impaired
some officers’ ability to respond to calls for service. It remains to be seen whether the
pandemic will result in increased officer turnover, but as extant research points to stressors
facilitating burnout among officers (Russell, Cole, & Jones III, 2014), it is likely jurisdic-
tions will employ a less experienced workforce in the upcoming years.

Acknowledging the potential relationship between COVID-related officer stress and
productivity, performance is further impacted by safety protocols that limit interaction
or simply require officers’ attention. Each moment that officers spend stocking,
preparing, donning, and discarding personal protective equipment is a moment that is
not spent completing essential functions. Equipment may impair field of vision,
breathing, and grip on objects hindering officer functions. The expectation that
uniformed officers will encourage social distancing and enforce lockdown directives
requires time that distracts from other obligations; as such, performance measures such
as clearance rates may suffer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Stress and Police Misconduct

In addition to reduced police productivity, we are likely to see more incidents of police
misconduct. By the nature of the occupation, police officers must uphold high stan-
dards of ethical behavior, but police misconduct is associated with increases in
organizational stressors (Bishopp, Worrall, & Piquero, 2016). These are likely to
increase during the uncertainty and increased protocols during a pandemic. Furthering
these challenges, police officers are the face of the government on the street. That is,
they are likely the only direct representative of the government and its laws that many
people interact with. As community tensions have increased and citizens voice greater
resistance to stay-at-home mandates and business restrictions, police officers are forced
to deal with implementing unpopular rules that they did not create.

One of the more stressful roles assumed by law enforcement is crowd control in an
unplanned and unrehearsed situation. While a planned political function with detailed
organization may not introduce large amounts of stress on officers, a more chaotic
event without clear boundaries, drills, and for which citizens have no awareness of
normative procedures is likely to be seen as extremely stressful (Garbarino et al., 2012).
Sporting celebrations, unforeseen weather emergencies, and riots each present chal-
lenges that accumulate stress on officers and may encourage or facilitate misconduct.
The stress-creating unknown and unrehearsed nature of these events was compounded
by the lack of precedent—protests of social distancing and shutdown orders are unlike
any other of the modern era. Groups assembling to vie for their right to interact with
others were violating orders that regulated assembly and group size. Additionally, due

724 American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730

to the stated position of these protests, most ignored best practices for reducing the
spread of COVID-19 by not leaving six feet of distance between themselves and police
officers, as well as not wearing a mask. In one iconic photo, a protestor at the state
capitol in Michigan leans in and screams in the face of two Michigan State Police
officers. It is easy to see how these officers would be stressed that in performing their
duties, they were potentially exposing themselves to the virus. Police were forced to
adapt to protect protestors from their compatriot’s viral loads.

While large protests were common in larger cities, they also appeared in other areas
across the country in the form of challenges to governmental directives (e.g., non-
essential business remaining open/reopening in opposition to state mandates). Further
exacerbating officer stress was the aforementioned protests of racial injustice directly
following those focused on governmental intrusion into business. Just as general strain
theory predicts that individuals placed under severe strain will respond with maladap-
tive coping mechanisms such as crime, officers facing continued stress through repeat-
ed protests and potential viral exposure, coupled with serving in the low control
environment that characterized by rioting, may engage in maladaptive deviant behav-
iors in the form of police misconduct. Officers targeted as a result of other officers’
behavior or governmental lockdowns are likely to feel angry and act to protect
themselves.

Some organizational strains can be reduced by administrators, but increased com-
munity tension, and the fear and uncertainty related to COVID-19 creates additional
stress and opportunities to engage in problematic coping behaviors and misconduct.
Police misconduct has been the focus of researchers and policy makers prior to
COVID-19 and additional efforts to reduce stress and increase training to promote
ethical conduct have already been implemented by a number of agencies.

For example, there are some police training programs designed to combat ethical
violations and promote officer wellbeing. To address widespread corruption and
misconduct the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) created the Ethical Policing
is Courageous (EPIC) peer intervention program which encourages active
bystandership with the goal of reducing negative behaviors and officer misconduct in
the NOPD (Aronie & Lopez, 2017; Morgan, Murphy, & Horwitz, 2017; Staub, 2019).
The main focus of the training is to encourage active bystander peers to step in when
officers first start down a path of deviance (Staub, 2018; Staub, 2019). This intervention
is intended to encourage officers to stop their fellow officer from engaging in miscon-
duct that could potentially cost their job and erode public trust in the police department.
Additionally, the training also focuses on wellbeing to encourage prosocial coping
mechanisms and active bystandership can help to reduce alcohol abuse and other
unhealthy habits resulting in a positive impact on officer’s mental health. Although
this training is promising and could help stem misconduct and increased stress caused
by a pandemic, it has yet to be evaluated.

Support of Officer Stress and Mental Health during a Pandemic

Several initiatives have been undertaken to improve officer mental health which
continues to be a funding priority for the National Institute of Justice. Among the
promising avenues for improving mental health are programs that target organizational

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 725

fairness. Officers routinely report treatment at the hands of command staff and imme-
diate supervisors as a primary source of stress in policing (Brown & Campbell, 1990;
Collins & Gibbs, 2003; Crank & Caldero, 1991). Furthermore, in the face of increasing
uncertainty, improved treatment at the hands of supervisors can improve police offi-
cers’ job satisfaction (Wolfe et al., 2018). Thus, programs that improve leaderships’
ability to increase fairness in the workplace should have positive effects on officers’
mental health and job satisfaction.

Other methods of improving officer mental health include programs that encourage
officers to positively cope through activities such as yoga and meditation (e.g., Tactical
Yoga, Yoga for First Responders, and Cop to Yoga). Other programs have encouraged
officers to talk to therapists regarding the mental strain of policing. However, these
programs are often criticized as the hyper-masculine culture of policing discourages
officers to seek external help. Accordingly, programs that target positive scoping skills
from within the department or through peer networks is often recommended. As
officers continue to deal with the stress of potential viral exposure of the coming
months, it will be important for departmental leadership to reduce stress as much as
possible, and for officers to identify positive coping strategies.

Officer Resiliency and Returning to Pre-Pandemic Baselines

Resilience is the ability to withstand, adapt to, and recover from adversity and stress
and return to a positive state of mental health and well-being through coping strategies
(U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2015). Resiliency requires a holistic
approach to wellness with a focus on the body, mind, and spirit (Goerling, 2012).
Police officers are often exposed to a variety of life-threatening experiences including
natural disasters, accidents, fires, and violent crimes (Arnetz, Nevedal, Lumley,
Backman, & Lublin, 2009). These events can have a detrimental impact on first
responders and result in mental health problems and PTSD (Hartley et al., 2011). Even
more challenging, if the traumatic circumstance isn’t a singular event, but daily
reinforced occupational stress over time due to a prolonged crisis, resiliency becomes
a sustained process to try and maintain healthy prosocial behaviors.

There is evidence that police training has the potential to promote resilience and
reduce stress. For example, in an experimental design, police training prior to
critical incident police work simulations found through biomarkers and self-report
evaluations that officers who received prior training had significantly less negative
mood, less heart rate reactivity, a larger increase in antithrombin, and better
performances than those without prior training (Arnetz et al., 2009). Although
this training showed a physical reduction in stress and benefits in the short run,
long term benefits were not assessed.

COVID-19 will have long lasting impacts on society and police departments will
likely have to permanently alter some policing protocols as a result. As people start
getting out in public more, police departments will need to reestablish community
relationships and develop strategies to deal with individuals who have been econom-
ically impacted and address increased mental health issues in the general population. A
strong focus on community policing and crisis intervention training will be essential in
successful post-pandemic policing.

726 American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730

Moving Forward: Quantifying COVID-19 Effects and Providing Officer
Support

A global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly affected law enforcement
practices and the mental health of law enforcement officers. As such, it is critical to
quantify the scope of these impacts in order to justify and properly target the provision
of resources that allow agencies and individuals to weather the storm. Further, an
understanding of COVID-19 effects will enable a more informed response to future
crises in order to retain law enforcement effectiveness and avoid detrimental effects on
law enforcement mental health. While COVID-related precautions are being labeled
“the new normal,” it is imperative that steps be taken to ensure that pandemic worsened
job stress levels not become “the new normal” for law enforcement officers.

We offer a number of recommendations for researchers to help understand this phenom-
enon. First, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on officer stress must be quantified. As
the events of 2020 were unforeseen, it was impossible for researchers to have planned a
longitudinal study of the pandemic’s effects beginning before its onset. As such, it is
necessary to replicate data collected on law enforcement stress, mental health, and perfor-
mance before the pandemic. Care must be taken to ensure a comparable sample or to draw
data from the same sampling frame. Within such studies it is not only relevant to determine if
an event increased law enforcement stress, but also if it shifted the source of job-related
stressors (e.g., Stevens, 2004). Additionally, stress in other life domains, as well as healthy
and unhealthy coping, should be quantified as major stressors as the COVID-19 response
may proliferate into other areas of officers’ lives (Slocum, 2010).

Second, identification of officer characteristics and behaviors linked to successful
coping following this traumatic event is key. Certain psychological traits or skills
developed during trainings related to mental health may have empowered more positive
responses to stressors. The provision of similar training programs may assist other
officers in dealing with future unforeseen pandemics while awareness of traits linked to
successful stress responses may provide insight in hiring processes. More importantly,
the identification of characteristics linked to less effective management of COVID-
related stress may assist departments in directing resources towards their officers in
most need of mental health services.

Third, studies should focus on agency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. While
numerous studies of this type are likely underway, the general focus is likely on
physical health issues and response to calls for service. An understanding of how law
enforcement groups looked to protect their own members’ mental health during a time
of crisis is needed so that the actions of successful agencies can be replicated by others
across the country.

In addition to researching the impact of COVID-19 on officer wellbeing, this
information should be utilized to adapt and develop future training protocols to help
first responders and police officers. In the wake of this unprecedented situation, it is
likely that many agencies were caught unprepared for the mental stress that their
officers would experience. However, with scientists already discussing second waves
and future outbreaks, now is the time to prepare officers for these situations. In our
view, this requires two primary paths forward for policing agencies: (1) departments
must focus on being logistically prepared for viral outbreaks through the stockpiling of
PPE and the development of emergency plans for how to police during a pandemic and

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 727

(2) departments must provide officers with training to improve skills for positive coping
in the face of extreme stress. As noted above, uncertainty can be a major source of
stress. By ensuring that the department is logistically prepared for an outbreak with PPE
and plans for altering policing strategies in future pandemics, officers should experi-
ence less uncertainty and less stress. Furthermore, while it is impossible to completely
remove stress from these types of situations, providing training on positive coping
skills should help officers to deal with the stress they do face without the side effects of
increased burnout, poor mental health, and unhealthy behaviors such as alcoholism.

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Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.

John Stogner is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology and also of public policy at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research and teaching focuses on criminological theory and
substance use with a particular emphasis on novel and emerging drugs. He also explores health-related
criminological issues, peer influences on delinquency, and biosocial criminology. He coauthored Emerging
Trends in Drug Use and Distribution and his works have appeared in journals such as Pediatrics, Addictive
Behaviors, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and Justice Quarterly.

American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730 729

https://doi.org/https://www.policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily

https://doi.org/https://www.policeforum.org/coronavirus#daily

Bryan Lee Miller, PhD is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Clemson University and recent
Fulbright Scholar at Tampere University (Finland). His work has evaluated drug abuse, co-occuring mental
illnes and substance abuse, and identification of interactive criminogenic factors and risk factors. He has
worked on multiple Department of Justice funded projects to develop law enforcement-led justice and mental
health programs. He is Chair of the Drug & Alcohol Research Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice
Sciences and President-elect of the Southern Criminal Justice Association.

Kyle McLean, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Clemson University. Dr. McLean is also a
National Institute of Justice Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Academic. His research interests
are in policing, criminological theory, and social psychology. His recent work has been published in Justice
Quarterly, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and the British Journal of Criminology.

730 American Journal of Criminal Justice (2020) 45:718–730

Reproduced with permission of copyright owner.
Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

• Police Stress, Mental Health, and Resiliency during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract
COVID-19’s Likely Impact on Officer Stress Extrapolated through Historical Context
Policing in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Occupational Stressors
Proliferation and Extension of COVID-19 Stress in Law Enforcement
Police Productivity in the Midst of a Pandemic
COVID-19 Stress and Police Misconduct
Support of Officer Stress and Mental Health during a Pandemic
Officer Resiliency and Returning to Pre-Pandemic Baselines
Moving Forward: Quantifying COVID-19 Effects and Providing Officer Support
References