How is the Virus Affecting Crime and Law Enforcement?

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Brazil police officers wearing protective face masks check a ferry passengers documents

In the United States and abroad, the COVID-19 pandemic is stretching government resources thin. Law enforcement agencies in particular are under great strain to keep their communities safe.

How is the virus affecting crime and the global black market? And how can we support police in hard-hit areas? Our experts discuss below. In addition, we take a look at the state of jobs and unemployment across America and offer local leaders recommendations for helping their citizens during the crisis.

Interested in live events on COVID-19? Register for this week's webinars, including a discussion on the economy with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. For all Brookings research and analysis on COVID-19, see our topic page.

Law enforcement during the crisis

What the virus means for the global black market. COVID-19 is influencing crime and illicit economies around the world. Vanda Felbab-Brown explains how the virus has affected online fraud, drug smuggling, wildlife trafficking, and other illegal activities.

When pandemics come to slums. Slums provide uniquely challenging conditions for containing the coronavirus. Quarantine restrictions are compounded by the lack of official law enforcement and an enhanced police or military presence is likely to be met by local resistance in some neighborhoods. COVID-19 policy responses must be carefully crafted with these factors in mind.

Changing practices by international police and criminal groups. Police and other law enforcement officials are likely to be redeployed to cities from rural areas. As a result, some criminal groups may find themselves serving as coronavirus responders in their communities.

Sending U.S. armed forces to help police. Hard-hit U.S. communities might soon need major assistance with patrolling streets, enforcing restrictions on movement, deterring crime, and other tasks. Brookings President John R. Allen, Michael O'Hanlon, and three former local police leaders discuss how the nation's armed forces can help.

Unemployment insurance and US workers

The current state of unemployment insurance. Manuel Alcalá Kovalski and Louise Sheiner provide a helpful overview on how unemployment insurance (UI) works and discuss the stress that COVID-19 has put on the system. Separately, a new report from Annelies Goger, Tracy Hadden Loh, and Caroline George outlines strategies to improve UI in America.

A deteriorating labor market. In March, the labor force participation rate declined to 62.7%. This sharp decline suggests that the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.4% is significantly understating the deterioration in the economy, Stephanie Aaronson contends.

What workers are already impacted by the recession? A new report from Alan Berube and Nicole Bateman sheds light on the 37 million American workers in industries that have been immediately impacted by the economic downturn from COVID-19 .

Essential infrastructure workers. From keeping our water running to ensuring our broadband is up to speed, 17 million workers operate and maintain America's infrastructure. Joseph Kane says now is the time to protect and invest in them.

Telecommuting will likely continue. Up to half of U.S. workers are currently working from home. Katherine Guyot and Isabel Sawhill say this may cause a more permanent shift toward telecommuting long after the pandemic is over.

More expert recommendations

Incorporate public health education into school lessons. As many of the world's students shift to remote learning, Rebecca Winthrop argues that health education is one topic sorely missing from their schoolwork.

Next steps for universities and professors. Over 200 colleges and universities have closed in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rashawn Ray offers some recommendations to leadership and faculty, including a pass/fail grade option for students and virtual office hours.

Invest in our most vulnerable communities. The coronavirus pandemic presents a time for us to rethink how we address communities in crisis. If we fail to include America's most vulnerable in the recovery process, we will only reinforce the glaring inequities we see today, Hanna Love and Jennifer S. Vey write.

Provide liquidity options and support to small businesses. Small businesses are not generating revenue, yet they still have fixed costs—like utilities, rent, and debt payments—and variable costs such as payroll. Joseph Parilla, Sifan Liu, and Brad Whitehead discuss how local leaders can stave off a small business collapse.

Learn from the New York and San Francisco responses. The two cities have had enormously different outcomes in their attempts to contain COVID-19. Indermit Gill lays out some important takeaways for developing countries.

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