Occupational role, moral obligation and COVID-19 vaccination intent among U.S. law enforcement officers: evidence from a cross-sectional survey

Purpose This study examines how perceived moral/ethical obligation, support for vaccine mandates and primary occupational role predicted COVID-19 vaccination intent among U.S. law enforcement officers during the first week of vaccine availability. Design/methodology/approach A sequential mixed-methods design was employed using survey data collected via Police1.com (December 14–20, 2020; N = 3,124 active sworn officers). Quantitative analyses included multinomial and binary logistic regression with predicted probabilities. Qualitative content and thematic analysis was conducted on 599 open-ended officer comments (645 coded excerpts). Findings Moral/ethical obligation was the near-deterministic predictor of vaccination intent: officers who agreed they had an ethical obligation to vaccinate had 298 times the odds of intending to vaccinate (predicted probability: 96% vs 5%). Mandate support was also strongly predictive. Occupational role effects persisted after attitudinal controls, with patrol officers maintaining 47% lower odds than administrative staff. Qualitative findings revealed that institutional distrust, moralized autonomy and duty-based framing were the primary cultural mechanisms associated with these patterns. Research limitations/implications The Police1.com convenience sample limits generalizability. Cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. Future research should employ longitudinal designs and collect political ideology and demographic data. Practical implications Vaccination decisions in law-enforcement appear to be moral and cultural before they are medical. Role-differentiated communication strategies, peer-based messaging and union engagement are more likely to reach hesitant officers than top-down institutional directives. Originality/value This is among the first studies to examine role-based variation in law enforcement vaccine decision-making using a large-N national sample collected at the precise moment of initial vaccine availability, before any mandate had been implemented. The mixed-methods integration reveals the cultural mechanisms underlying statistical patterns in ways that quantitative analysis alone cannot capture.