Law Enforcers’ Experiences: The COVID-19 Challenges and Ways Forward

Abstract

The pandemic introduced the “new normal” and has challenged the law enforcers in the maintenance of safety and security in all communities. This study was conceptualized to expose the problems experienced by the law enforcers in Mountain Province in suppressing the spread of the contagion and the adaptive strategies employed by the law enforcement agencies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. A qualitative design was used to gather information from the personnel employed in all municipal police stations in Mountain Province, including the Bureau of Fire Protection and local government unit personnel assigned at the checkpoints, through interviews and focus group discussions. It was found that there was confusion on the implementation of the different guidelines, that natural and human-induced threats are among the posing dangers to the security of the law enforcers, and that they too experienced stress. However, the line agencies exercised good organizational politics such as having open communication within and among other agencies, intensifying existing programs, and coming up with alternatives to ease some of the burdens that the law enforcers experienced. From the results, measures were suggested for line agencies to adopt to make the frontliners become more resilient.