Authoritarian policing during the pandemic and its consequences for police stress in Taiwan

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered work modalities across professions, including law enforcement. This study examines factors influencing both general work stress and pandemic-specific stress among police officers in Taiwan, where officers were mobilized as enforcers of emergency regulations. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected in the fall of 2020, six months into pandemic-related control measures. A comparative analysis of general and pandemic-specific stressors was conducted, with structural equation modeling applied to responses from 628 officers. Findings Results indicate that supervisory support and media consumption significantly predicted both general and pandemic-related stress. However, fewer variables were significantly associated with pandemic-specific stress. The findings suggest that authoritarian policing practices persisted beneath democratic rhetoric during the pandemic, highlighting the politicization of law enforcement in Taiwan. Research limitations/implications The study did not directly measure pandemic policies, which were only implicated by model variables and stress measures. The nature of the convenience sample challenges the generalizability of the findings. Implications of democratic law enforcement during disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed. Practical implications As for future policy-making, when responding to a crisis like the pandemic, the police should maintain the role of complementary, temporary and reactive responders, instead of the primary and first responders. Mandatory policies, as a coping strategy for emergent crisis, should be well-thought-out before issuing and implementing, given the fact that their collateral consequences are more problematic, such as elevated work stress, strained police–public relationships and increased social cynicism. Moreover, regular supervisor training on crisis management, including human rights and the use of discretion, is necessary since supervisory support significantly affects work stress among police officers. Originality/value The current study provides a case study on Taiwan because the pandemic control policies were politicized. By focusing on police pandemic stress, the current research advances our understanding of police stress through a comparison of factors associated with both general work stress and pandemic work stress.