Purpose

This study seeks to extend recent research on perceptions of “pandemic policing” by examining public support for the ability of police to surveil, quarantine, detain, and remove individuals from their homes, if suspected of exposure to or manifesting symptoms of the coronavirus. This study draws from extant research on public willingness to empower police, including common normative and instrumental explanations of empowerment. We also assess whether perceptions that governments exploit emergencies influence willingness to empower police.

Methods

Using a nationwide opt-in sample of 600 American adults surveyed in late April 2020, OLS regressions examine the correlates of support for expanding police powers at that time.

Results

There was greater than 50% support for six out of seven possible expansions of police authority. Regression results indicate that normative orientations (police legitimacy, perceptions that governments exploit national emergencies) and instrumental considerations (fear of COVID-19, perceived severity of its consequences) influence willingness to empower police, though normative orientations appear to have stronger effects.

Conclusion

Legitimacy is a powerful predictor of empowerment, even in exceptional circumstances. Strategies meant to deal with these circumstances will need to be cognizant of the long-term need to cultivate legitimacy by various institutional actors, including police, and the relevance of instrumental considerations in shaping support for these strategies.

中文翻译：

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评估 COVID-19 大流行初期公众对扩大警察权力的支持：测试阳光的极限和泰勒的赋权假设

目的

这项研究旨在通过调查公众对警察监视、隔离、拘留和将疑似接触冠状病毒或出现冠状病毒症状的人从家中驱逐的能力的支持程度，来扩展最近对“大流行警务”看法的研究。本研究借鉴了关于公众赋予警察权力意愿的现有研究，包括对赋权的常见规范和工具解释。我们还评估了对政府利用紧急情况的看法是否会影响向警察赋权的意愿。

方法

OLS 回归利用 2020 年 4 月下旬对 600 名美国成年人进行的全国范围内选择性参与样本调查，检验了当时支持扩大警察权力的相关性。

结果

超过 50% 的人支持七分之六的可能扩大警察权力的可能性。回归结果表明，规范性取向（警察的合法性、对政府利用国家紧急情况的看法）和工具性考虑（对 COVID-19 的恐惧、对其后果的严重性的感知）影响着赋予警察权力的意愿，尽管规范性取向似乎具有更强的影响。

结论

即使在特殊情况下，合法性也是赋权的有力预测因素。旨在应对这些情况的战略需要认识到培养包括警察在内的各种机构行为者合法性的长期需要，以及在形成对这些战略的支持时工具性考虑的相关性。