Policing a pandemic: An exploration of police use of powers during COVID-19, dis-proportionality and the impact on public perceptions of police legitimacy.

Traditional UK policing relies on Peelian principles of policing by consent in which public views of police legitimacy are based on transparency about their powers, integrity in exercising powers and accountability for doing so. This research seeks to explore the impact of the Coronavirus Act 2020 on public perceptions towards the police and examine their use of powers. This project seeks to explore these issues within the force area of Merseyside specifically, but hopes to serve as a catalyst for further examination of these trends nationwide and internationally. A mixed methods approach will be taken via three studies: (i) an online survey exploring public perceptions of The Coronavirus Act 2020 police use of powers, (ii) an online survey examining frontline police officer experiences of the implementation of these powers, and (iii) an analysis of the COVID related arrests/use of COVID related powers in Merseyside.