The COVID-19 Pandemic: Trust in Authorities and Criminal Justice Systems

Shortly after March 13, 2020, the University of Massachusetts Lowell announced a grant for studies investigating the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, US citizens were fighting over and hoarding toilet paper. Many seemed anxious about the shutdown with schools and workplaces closing and the public receiving indeterminate stay-at-home orders. Additionally, the US culture wars and distrust of the government from both sides contributed to what could ignite the powder keg. The possibility of public protests, riots, and widespread unrest seemed inevitable. Further, there was no vaccine, scientific predictions that vaccine approval was years if not decades away, and there was the element of virus mutations. Each country grappled with how authorities would handle the regulations related to COVID-19 and how the public would respond to these rapid, stressful impositions.

Given Dr. Chenane's expertise in policing and mine in risk, we decided to devise a study exploring trust in authorities and fear during this global public health emergency. Our interest in public trust extended beyond the government and the police to corrections and other criminal justice systems faced with decisions unprecedented in this century. We formulated the idea of a special issue dedicated to understanding the broad questions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, how is public trust in authorities affected? How do authorities respond, and how do distinct groups perceive them within countries and cross-nationally?

Much research examines public trust in the government and criminal justice institutions . Variation in public trust in authoritative systems may be attributed to intersectionality and perceptions of equity. Multiple factors can influence the public's perception and responses to authoritative institutions, and they include (1) structural inequality, (2) preexisting relationships between the public and authoritative institutions, and (3) prior interactions with authorities (see Figure 1). These factors will impact a baseline level of trust in authorities. With the advent of a global emergency, the public will have preexisting levels of trust, and as authorities respond, the public evaluates the fairness and effectiveness of these responses. These factors and other variables, such as fear of personal and community health or social and economic worries, may impact the public's attitudes about and compliance with authoritative institutions during a critical event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Figure 1.

Trust in authorities during an emergency event: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Within policing, scholars have argued that trust is essential for building and strengthening police-citizen relations (Fagan & Davies, 2000; Gau & Brunson, 2010; Hamm et al., 2017; Nix et al., 2015; Pryce & Chenane, 2021; Tyler et al., 2014; Tyler & Fagan, 2008). Generally, trust between the public and criminal justice and other social service institutions is essential for the stability of communities (Goldsmith, 2005) and cooperation between these institutions and the public (Hough, 2012; Jackson & Bradford, 2010; Murphy, 2017; Sargeant et al., 2014; Sun et al., 2012, 2014; Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tankebe, 2008; Tyler, 2005; Van Craen, 2013; Van Craen & Skogan, 2015). Nonetheless, during times of national emergency, it might be easier for police and other criminal justice agents to default to law-and-order tactics rather than strategies (e.g., procedurally just policing), which have been found to enhance public trust in the police.

There is a growing body of research on trust in authorities during emergencies, disasters, or pandemics (e.g., Borowski & Stathopoulos, 2020; Reid, 2013; Reinhardt, 2019). The public's attitudes toward the government, the state, and government entities, such as the police, can be impacted by these events. During national emergencies, the public's distrust of the government and law enforcement can increase, elevating fear (Smallman, 2015). For example, during the swine flu outbreak, half of the American adults felt that the federal government, corporations, or both were involved in at least one conspiracy to cover health information (Painter, 2014). Additionally, communities experiencing structural disadvantage, prior negative interactions with authorities, and inequity during other emergencies will have diminished trust in authority figures for vital reasons. For instance, in a study about a hypothetical pandemic in New York City, Fuller et al. (2007) conducted focus groups with different ethnic communities about whether they would trust their government to furnish necessary survival staples and maintain civil order. Their level of trust and feelings of preparedness varied greatly, with Black communities having the least trust in the government and police to maintain order in their neighborhoods. Still, there are variations in trust of authority by race and ethnicity within countries (e.g., Arriola & Grossman, 2021; Cochran & Warren, 2012; Jamison et al., 2019). Dong and Bouey (2020) found that the Chinese government exacerbated the rate of mental distress during the outbreak of the coronavirus by initially downplaying its severity, which also negatively impacted public trust in the government. By country, there is probably even more significant variation because of existing relationships between the public and the government and police that will dictate residents’ and citizens’ trust in authorities, especially during a crisis.

Crucially, there will be cross-national differences in the public baseline level of trust for authorities, impacting how these systems respond. For instance, it may be difficult for the public to perceive the police as fair and respectful (particularly in totalitarian societies) during emergencies when public views of law enforcement are already unfavorable (Akinlabi, 2017, 2020; Alemika, 2009; Roché & Oberwittler, 2018; Tankebe, 2010). Indeed, studies conducted during the pandemic have revealed a high public distrust of the police in some countries (Aborisade, 2021; Lamb, 2023; Shodunke, 2022). The relationship between the government and other criminal justice systems and the country's political climate contributed to variations in public trust in authorities and evaluations of their responses during this global crisis. For instance, in the United States, democracy was already threatened by accusations of election fraud and a policing crisis due to racial bias and police killings of Black men. The country was deeply divided by opposing political beliefs that escalated with the subsequently attempted insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, by former President Trump's supporters and widespread Black Lives Matter protests of police killings of George Floyd and deadly police interactions with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Additionally, some conservative groups posited that COVID-19 was a hoax or just like the “regular flu,” including those in positions of authority, such as large swathes of US police officers and corrections officers (Helfers & Nhan, 2022).

Each country has a baseline for public trust, with variation in trust hinging on structural disadvantage, their communities’ relationship to authority, and prior interactions with authorities. Trust can change based on fear and the actual responses of authority during the global crisis. The historical context, events within each country, and levels of fear based on health, economic, spiritual, and social worries may impact the public differently, and it will also have distinct impacts on groups within those countries.

In this special issue titled The COVID-19 Pandemic: Trust in Authorities and Criminal Justice Systems, researchers explored trust, fear, and compliance with the government and criminal justice systems in different cultural contexts. First, Jonathan C. Reid, Samantha J. Brown, and Jared Dmello, in their study titled COVID-19, Diffuse Anxiety, and Public (Mis)Trust in Government: Empirical Insights and Implications for Crime and Justice, investigated public trust in the US government using the American National Election Study. Using OLS, they revealed that public trust during COVID-19 depended on views of the government's COVID-19 response, beliefs about the state of the country and government corruption, and concern about election fraud in the state of US democracy. This study and others in this special issue show that how the public evaluates authorities’ responses in an emergency is linked to public trust in authorities. Interestingly, variability in public trust was attributed to their feelings about the police and the Centers for Disease Control, showing that baseline trust in other authoritative institutions matters regarding public trust in the government and that multiple authorities may be under collective scrutiny in an emergency.

In this special issue, several articles explore public trust in and compliance with police during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries, law enforcement was instrumental in enforcing outbreak protocols, including curfews and mask-wearing, and they were on call in the case of protests or riots (Maskály et al., 2021; Shodunke, 2022). However, each context is distinct regarding the relationship between the government and police, the historical backgrounds of how these authorities interface with the public, variations in dominant and marginalized publics, and their view of authorities.

Yongjae Nam, Jon Maskály, Sanja Kutnjak Ivković, and Peter Neyroud focused on types of factors that may affect the public's trust in police during COVID-19 in South Korea in their study titled Exploring Trust in the Police in South Korea during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Fear of the COVID-19 Matter? They found that four factors may impact the public's trust (1) interactions with police during the pandemic and (2) assessments of police effectiveness in enforcing COVID-19 regulations, (3) individual concerns for personal health, and (4) adherence to conspiracy theories. Their findings show that when law enforcement was perceived to effectively handle the challenges of COVID-19 and concerns of public health, trust in the Korean National Police was strengthened.

In a similar investigation in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anna Gurinskaya, Mahesh Nalla, and Seung Paek, in their study titled Exploring the Determinants of Citizens’ Compliance with COVID-19 Regulations: Legitimacy versus Fear and explored the relationship between dimensions of state authorities’ legitimacy (normative alignment, the obligation to obey, and support for COVID-19 mitigation mandates and fear factor risk of sanctions and infection) on citizens willingness to comply with COVID-19 mandates, unlike other studies in this special issue, they did not find a relationship between obligation to obey and compliance. However, fear factors of police sanctions, infection, and self-morality related to an individual's reaction to legal and social rule-breaking (a strong predictor of law-abiding behavior) were positively related to compliance. Prior studies have shown that residents living in non-democratic or emerging democracies may comply with police due to fear instead of an obligation to obey or feelings of police legitimacy (Akinlabi & Murphy, 2018; Tankebe, 2013). Further, cultural dynamics may emerge, such as specific legal or social rule-breaking types.

Antje Deckert and colleagues studied whether the public trusted New Zealand Police (NZP) to enforce lockdown rules in their study titled “It has totally changed how I think about the police”: COVID-19 and the mis/trust of pandemic policing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Using survey data, they compared trust with those who had been stopped by NZP during the lockdown to those without contact, finding that those with contact had less trust in NZP to enforce rules, and these participants perceived NZP to be more heavy-handed. Using quantitative and qualitative data, they found that participants perceived the NZP as procedurally unjust or inconsistent in applying the lockdown rules. These researchers surmised that the unusual nature of the pandemic could cause many segments of the population to reduce their level of trust in government, including those of European descent who typically have a higher baseline trust. Additionally, they called for more research on groups experiencing systemic racism, particularly Māori. Several studies showed that prior police contact has a detrimental impact on the public's perception of these authoritative figures.

Joselyne L. Chenane, Amber Horning, Sean Perry, and Catherine Stevens, in their study titled Police Legitimacy and Trust During COVID-19: A Cross-National Analysis used cross-national survey data and examined factors that influence public willingness to obey and cooperate with police and the relationship between police legitimacy and willingness to obey and cooperate with the policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. OLS results revealed that police legitimacy and trust remain crucial predictors of public willingness to support and cooperate with the police. Furthermore, these researchers found cross-national differences in public willingness to obey and cooperate with police during the pandemic. Specifically, compared to US residents, Kenyan residents were more inclined to cooperate with police during the pandemic. In contrast, Indian and residents of other countries were less likely to feel obligated to obey police than US residents. Existing levels of trust in police or fear of police may impact the public obligation to obey or comply with rules during an emergency.

Christian Gallagher and colleagues, in their study titled studied COVID-19 and Policing: A Qualitative Study of Sheriff Departments in Rural Indiana Sheriffs in rural Indiana and their perceptions of how COVID-19 impacted the CJ system. The two major themes were the Sheriff's Department's precautions against COVID-19 and how the criminal justice system works during the pandemic. While COVID-19 impacted trust in systems, those systems adapted to a new and previously unknown threat. Those incarcerated in jails and state and federal prisons were at extreme health risk due to overcrowding, making it challenging to enforce COVID-19 protocols. In addition, they experienced psychological distress because of fear and further isolation when administrators suspended in-person visitation. Their existing levels of deprivation made them more vulnerable to physical and psychological health risks. Due to their prior experiences with the criminal justice system, the incarcerated population already has a low baseline level of trust in authorities.

Contributors to this special issue also explore public trust in the corrections system, as facilities’ decisions to keep carceral populations safe were often ineffective and had several unintended consequences on incarcerated individuals. Miltonette Olivia Craig, Mijin Kim, and Dawn Beichner-Thomas analyzed interviews of those incarcerated in the US during COVID-19 in their study titled Incarcerated in a Pandemic: How COVID-19 Exacerbated the “Pains of Imprisonment.” They found that incarcerated individuals were largely unable to protect themselves against the virus and described feelings of neglect and dehumanization due to correctional staff's actions and inactions. Facilities’ responses to the pandemic also impacted the families of the incarcerated, as they received few updates on health and safety and experienced fear and hopelessness when their loved ones were further isolated from the outside world. Their findings provide insight into the incarcerated population's traumatic experiences and how institutional failures increased their distrust of the criminal legal system and contributed to their difficulties in coping.

In another US study, Chase Montagnet, Julia Bowling, Anthony Azari, and Colleen Berryessa interviewed incarcerated individuals about the conditions of confinement in their study titled “Worst experience in my life”: Conditions of confinement in incarcerated settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their findings show that the COVID-19 lockdown measures instituted to prevent virus transmission created environments akin to solitary confinement that compromised social connections to family and friends, increased fear of contraction, and further eroded participants’ trust in correctional institutions.

In conclusion, this special issue explores perceptions of authoritative systems, such as government, police, and corrections, during a global crisis event, the COVID-19 pandemic. This compilation of studies shows how trust is operationalized and how different factors, such as fear, morality, assessments of conspiracies, and interactions with authorities before and during the event, impacted participants’ perceptions of government and police legitimacy and trust in other criminal justice systems. Regarding differences, totalitarian countries (e.g., Russia) or those with less developed democracies (e.g., Kenya) may comply with police due to fear of authorities rather than an obligation to obey or a belief in police legitimacy (see Akinlabi & Murphy, 2018; Tankebe, 2013). The public's encounters with police erode public trust in authorities; therefore, law enforcement should reduce interactions involving trivial matters and routine stops during these events. Many studies in this special issue showed that factors crucial to maintaining trust and compliance during this global crisis depended on the public evaluation of how authorities responded.