Table Of ContentPALGRAVE’S CRITICAL POLICING STUDIES
Plural Policing, Security
and the COVID Crisis
Comparative European Perspectives
Edited by
Monica Den Boer · Eric Bervoets · Linda Hak
Palgrave’s Critical Policing Studies
Series Editors
Elizabeth Aston, School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh
Napier University, Edinburgh, UK
Michael Rowe, Department of Social Sciences Newcastle
City Campus, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon
Tyne, UK
In a period where police and academics benefit from coproduction in
research and education, the need for a critical perspective on key chal-
lenges is pressing. Palgrave’s Critical Policing Studies is a series of high
quality, research-based books which examine a range of cutting-edge
challenges and developments to policing and their social and polit-
ical contexts. They seek to provide evidence-based case studies and
high quality research, combined with critique and theory, to address
fundamental challenging questions about future directions in policing.
Through a range of formats including monographs, edited collections
and short form Pivots, this series provides research at a variety of lengths
to suit both academics and practitioners. The series brings together new
topics at the forefront of policing scholarship but is also organised around
who the contemporary police are, what they do, how they go about
it, and the ever-changing external environments which bear upon their
work.
The series will cover topics such as: the purpose of policing and public
expectations, public health approaches to policing, policing of cyber-
crime, environmental policing, digital policing, social media, Artificial
Intelligence and big data, accountability of complex networks of actors
involved in policing, austerity, public scrutiny, technological and social
changes, over-policing and marginalised groups, under-policing and
corporate crime, institutional abuses, policing of climate change, ethics,
workforce, education, evidence-based policing, and the pluralisation of
policing.
· ·
Monica Den Boer Eric Bervoets Linda Hak
Editors
Plural Policing,
Security
and the COVID Crisis
Comparative European Perspectives
Editors
Monica Den Boer Eric Bervoets
Faculty of Military Sciences Netherlands Defence Academy
Netherlands Defence Academy Breda, The Netherlands
Breda, The Netherlands
Linda Hak
National Police of The Netherlands
Noord-Holland, The Netherlands
ISSN 2730-535X ISSN 2730-5368 (electronic)
Palgrave’s Critical Policing Studies
ISBN 978-3-031-19176-3 ISBN 978-3-031-19177-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19177-0
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Praise for Plural Policing, Security and the
COVID Crisis
“Monica den Boer, Eric Bervoets and Linda Hak have produced an
outstanding book on the dynamics of plural policing, security and the
COVID Crisis. By linking empirical insights about our understanding
of policing during the COVID pandemic with empirical investigations
in highly interesting comparative European case studies, the book makes
a substantial contribution to our understanding of both the theoretical
and empirical dynamics of the phenomenon. Indeed, this is an excellent
book which provides a very interesting and compelling analysis of an
important and largely under-researched topic. It is highly recommended
for anyone interested in Policing Studies, Political Science, Sociology and
Criminology, or International Security more generally.”
—Christian Kaunert, Professor of International Security, Dublin City
University, Ireland and Professor of Policing and Security & Director of the
International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales,
UK
“Anyone curious about how plural policing unfolds in times of crisis
should read this book. Experts empirically describe the dynamics during
the fight against COVID-19 in 9 countries and show how existing
v
vi PraiseforPluralPolicing,SecurityandtheCOVIDCrisis
trends and patterns in plural policing are confirmed or not, making
it an attractive read. It reveals an intriguing patchwork and generates
insights for academics and practitioners about the (non-)active role of a
diversity of actors in the governance of security during crises. This collec-
tion contains several insights and lessons learnt for scholars as well as
practitioners of policing.”
—Marleen Easton, Professor and head of the research group ‘Governing
and Policing Security’ (GaPS) at the Department of Public Governance and
Management at Ghent University, Belgium
“They say that in crisis management, you should be quick with the facts
but slow with the blame. That is precisely what this must-read book
does. A number of highly credible observers give a rare insight into how
Europe acted upon its worst challenge in our time. By putting light on
how a number of different states across Europe acted in these dire times,
the authors have been able to catch not only essential learning points for
the future-but also add a new understanding of what policing and harm
reduction really is. It’s not good vs evil. It’s more about how to prevent
something bad from getting worse.”
—Dr. Ivar Fahsing is a detective chief superintendent and associate
professor at the Norwegian Police University College
Contents
1 Plural Policing, Security and the COVID-19
Crisis: An Introduction to Comparative European
Perspectives 1
Monica Den Boer, Eric Bervoets, and Linda Hak
1 Introduction 1
2 Leading Questions 4
3 Trends and Patterns 7
4 Comparative Dimension 10
5 Reading Guide to the Chapters 13
6 An Introduction to the Authors 18
References 26
2 Policing with the Help of Data: The Use of CoroPol
in the Pandemic’s Early Stages in The Netherlands 33
Eric Bervoets, Jolijn Broekhuizen, Henk Ferwerda,
and Wouter Landman
1 Introduction 33
1.1 Plural Policing 36
vii
viii Contents
2 CoroPol: Collating Information During the Initial
Stages of the Pandemic 37
3 Key Observations: Crime Shifts During the Initial
Stages of the Pandemic 39
3.1 Opportunities as an Issue 39
3.2 How Vulnerable Persons Turn into Victims 42
3.3 Reflection 45
4 Social Disorder 46
4.1 Actual Tensions and Disorder in The
Netherlands During First Pandemic Wave 46
4.2 Background: Decrease in Support (of Measures)
and ‘Moral Holiday’ 47
4.3 Trust in Police 50
5 Key Observations on Plural Policing and Security 52
5.1 Introduction: Observations and Predictions 52
5.2 Circumstances: Little Pluralism, No Protocols,
Little Intel, Lack of Proximity 52
5.3 A Classic Police Dilemma in Extraordinary
Times 54
5.4 Summary and Reflection: A Quest for Balance 56
6 Conclusions and Critical Assessment 57
References 61
3 Policing and Security in Southern Europe: How
the COVID-19 Pandemic Reaffirms Pre-existing
Patterns 67
Christian Mouhanna, Anastassia Tsoukala,
and Gemma Ubasart-González
1 Introduction 67
2 Spain in the Face of COVID-19: State of Alarm
and Decentralised Police Response 71
2.1 State of Alarm 72
2.2 Policing the Lockdown 74
2.3 Restriction on Fundamental Rights
and Deprivation of Liberty Management 75
Contents ix
3 France: A Permanent State of Emergency, With
or Without COVID-19 78
3.1 A Permanent State of Emergency 79
3.2 Police Practices Towards Hesitant Governmental
Strategies 80
3.3 Public Opinion Still Keen to Oppose 83
4 Greece: Authoritarian Modes of Policing 86
4.1 Governmental Communication Strategy
on Policing and Security 87
4.2 Maintaining Law and Order During
the COVID-19 Crisis 89
5 Discussion 93
5.1 An Emergency Adaptation 95
5.2 Limits to COVID-19 Policing Vary
from Country to Country 97
References 100
4 Police and Other Plural Policing Institutions
in Central and Eastern Europe Facing COVID-19
Pandemic 107
Branko Lobnikar, László Christián, József Balla,
Ádám Kalmár, Irena Cajner Mraovi´c, Krunoslav Borovec,
and Andrej Sotlar
1 Introduction 107
2 Policing Pandemic in Central and Eastern European
Countries: The Case of Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia 111
2.1 New Legislation and Pandemic Response
Organisation 111
2.2 Policing COVID-19 Pandemic in CEE 116
3 Assessment of the Functioning of (Plural) Police
Institutions During a Pandemic in CEE Countries 125
4 Discussion and Conclusion 130
References 133
