American Police at Risk in the Face of Pandemic

Large numbers of law enforcement officers in the U.S. lack protective equipment, and hundreds of them could have COVID-19, or are under quarantine.

Protecting public order in the United States is becoming an increasingly difficult task in the context of the growing COVID-19 pandemic in North America. The reason is that police officers are in constant close contact with many people (including offenders), and this makes them one of groups most at risk of contracting the new coronavirus.

Problems in New York and Other Major Cities

“When nine police officers were sent to make an arrest in the Melrose Avenue area of the Bronx last Wednesday, none of them were wearing a mask or gloves to keep them from becoming infected,” Reuters reported in an extensive article about the issue. [

Similar scenes are being played out everyday on the streets of the city, which is currently the fastest growing area of contamination in America. More than 20 members of the New York Police Department told Reuters they are being forced to patrol streets, respond to emergency calls and detain intruders without protective equipment.

According to official data on Sunday, 730 uniformed officers and 88 civilians working for NYPD have proved positive for COVID-19. The NYPD tells Reuters that about 5,000 people from its nearly 55,000 member department are currently on sick leave.

There is a similar pattern in most major U.S. police forces, such as Detroit and Houston, according to a Reuters report covering the period between March 25 – March 29. The study reported that 1,012 law enforcement officers were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Sunday. The personnel shortage is already beginning to show on the streets, and this is causing many departments to redirect investigators and administrative staff to security and patrol activities. This, in turn, is beginning to block work on more complex criminal cases.

A Lack of Necessary Equipment

Patrol officers interviewed by Reuters openly resent the lack of protective equipment and fear that they may infect their families. However, the officers all are speaking anonymously, since they are not authorized to make statements to the media. New York police spokeswoman Jessica McRorie commented that all employees received detailed instructions on how to protect themselves from the coronavirus, and employees received 204,000 pairs of gloves, 75,000 n95 masks, 340,000 surgical masks and 125,000 packages of alcohol wipes and gels. However, she did not indicate whether the equipment in question, most of which is disposable, will be sufficient for the all 55,000 members of the state’s largest police force.

The problems of labor shortages due to the pandemic are perhaps best illustrated by the situation at the Philadelphia Police Department, which is the fourth largest in the United States and has 6,540 employees. Because of the pandemic, its leadership has decided to defer arrests for certain types of crimes that do not involve physical violence.

Under the changes, suspects will be detained only temporarily, their identities will be established, and only initial administrative procedures will be conducted. They will then be released instead of having their cases referred immediately to the detective department. The idea is that perpetrators will be arrested again at a later point, when the police are not suffering from a labor shortage, according to Reuters.

And while quarantine regulations, self-isolation and business closures are paralyzing the economy, it doesn’t seem to have made a serious impact on crime, Reuters adds. According to Reuters, U.S. police statistics in recent days show a serious decrease in traffic violation checks, but a constant number of reports about serious offenses.