Study: The role of police enforcement in public health emergencies

The role of police enforcement in public health emergencies The COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted for nearly 3 years, has killed millions of people worldwide. Globally, during this public health emergency of international concern, the police have played an important role in maintaining social stability and preventing the crisis from further escalating during lockdowns.1 They also partnered with local centres for disease control and prevention (CDC) to track citizens’ information to prevent the virus from spreading and conducted crisis communication to keep people away from misinformation. The Lancet

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To improve the role of the police in public health emergencies, increasing the transparency of police participation through stronger media monitoring is important. A third-party independent health organisation, such as medical associations, could also be engaged to monitor police behaviour to avoid privacy data violations. A public health and social protection position, either on an ad hoc or permanent basis, could be set up within the police system, to advise on the preparation, reaction, and recovery from public health emergencies and to improve communication between the police and CDCs. ...