The Role Of Law Enforcement In Public Health Emergencies

Public health emergencies pose special challenges for law enforcement, whether the threat is manmade (e.g., the anthrax terrorist attacks) or naturally occurring (e.g., flu pandemics). Policing strategies will vary depending on the cause and level of the threat, as will the potential risk to the responding officers. In a public health emergency, law enforcement will need to quickly coordinate its response with public health and medical officials, many of whom they may not have worked with previously. Depending on the threat, law enforcement's role may include enforcing public health orders (e.g., quarantines or travel restrictions), securing the perimeter of contaminated areas, securing health care facilities, controlling crowds, investigating scenes of suspected biological terrorism, and protecting national stockpiles of vaccines or other medicines. In a large-scale incident, such as a pandemic, law enforcement resources will quickly become overwhelmed, and law enforcement officials will have to balance their resources and efforts between these new responsibilities and everyday service demands. All of this may have to be accomplished with a greatly diminished workforce, as officers and their families may become infected and ill, and some personnel may determine that the risk of continuing to report to work is just too great to themselves or their families. A department's ability to respond effectively to any emergency--public health or otherwise--greatly depends on its preparedness, and this is directly linked to the law enforcement agency's planning and its partnerships. This document will help state and local law enforcement officials and policymakers to understand communicable diseases (including terminology and methods of transmission) and the threat they pose to public health and safety. The document outlines key concerns that law enforcement officials must address in preparation for a virus-caused pandemic and other public health emergencies and identifies issues that may arise in the department's “all-hazards” approach. The document has three main sections: • Preparing the department (e.g., maintaining operational continuity). • Protecting the officers (e.g., educating them about transmission, vaccination, and treatment). • Protecting the community (e.g., maintaining public order). In addition, five appendixes provide background information and additional resources.

This book examines the role and involvement of law enforcement agencies across the spectrum of homeland security and emergency management. Contributions from expert practitioners and academics are organized around the mission areas of mitigation/protection, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

The expanding remit of policing as a fundamental part of the public health continuum is increasingly acknowledged on the international scene. Similarly the growing role of health professionals as brokers of public safety means that the need for scholarly resources for developing knowledge and broadening theoretical positioning and questioning is becoming urgent and crucial. The fields of law enforcement and public health are beginning to understand the inextricable links between public safety and public health and the need to shift policies and practices towards more integrated practices. This book comes as a first, an utterly timely scholarly collection that brings together the views of multidisciplinary commentators on a wide range of issues and disciplines within the law enforcement and public health (LEPH) arena. The book addresses the more conceptual aspects of the relationship as well as more applied fields of collaboration, and the authors describe and analyze a range of service delivery examples taken from real-life instances of partnerships in action. Among the topics covered: ​Defund, Dismantle or Define Law Enforcement, Public Health, and Vulnerability Law Enforcement and Mental Health: The Missing Middle The Challenges of Sustaining Partnerships and the Diversification of Cultures Using Public Health Concepts and Metrics to Guide Policing Strategy and Practice Policing Pandemics Law Enforcement and Public Health: Partners for Community Safety and Wellbeing is essential reading for a wide array of professions and areas of expertise in the intersectoral field of LEPH. It is an indispensable resource for public health and law enforcement specialists (practitioners, educators, scholars, and researchers) and training programs across the world, as well as individuals interested in developing their knowledge and capacity to respond to complex LEPH issues in the field, including public prosecutors, coroners, and the judiciary. The text also can be used for undergraduate and postgraduate university policing, criminology, sociology, psychology, social work, public health, and medicine programs.

This book explores the role of police in public health emergencies such as pandemics. Modern policing has become increasingly complex with police officers required to respond to a wide variety of emergencies and other potentially dangerous situations, where well-designed and executed police responses can mitigate fatalities and economic damage. It provides an overview for non-specialists of the nature and characteristics of different pandemics like COVID-19 as well as diseases with pandemic potential, biological weapons and agroterrorism. It discusses the police responses to them and the challenges presented by them. It covers topics including: different police responses to naturally occurring and deliberate events, the police role in the governance of biological research, the role of leaders and leadership in responding to pandemics, impacts on first responder wellness and workforce capability, and police capacity and capability from a global perspective. It offers advice on effective engagement between law enforcement and other professionals and agencies, with case studies designed to highlight best practices in pandemic preparedness and the various challenges identified. It speaks to a wide market of academics, health organisations, governments and NGOs.

This book examines the role and involvement of law enforcement agencies across the spectrum of homeland security and emergency management. Contributions from expert practitioners and academics are organized around the mission areas of mitigation/protection, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

With renewed interest in both emergency management and homeland security, disproportionate attention and resources have been focused on terrorist threats. However, natural hazards pose a far greater risk of death, injury, and property damage to the typical American jurisdiction. Hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes cause billions of dollars in damage and substantial numbers of deaths and injuries each year. The aim of this book is to focus on these natural hazards and the linkage between law enforcement and emergency management. It draws from criminal justice, psychology, public administration, emergency management, public health, meteorology, leadership, and management in an effort to synthesize a wealth of knowledge to better prepare police officers to respond to the complete range of emergencies and disasters they encounter on the job. Emergency Management for Law Enforcement: Strategies, Operations, and Tactics will help to better integrate law enforcement officers with other first responder agencies as they work together to resolve critical incidents. It pulls together important information obtained from empirical research and disaster experience. This knowledge is designed to help law enforcement officers deal with disasters and emergencies more effectively as important players in emergency management. Learning these evidence-based practical applications will assist police officers in making better decisions in order to take more effective actions at critical incident scenes.