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Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.
Adapt to the changing expectations and demands of citizens at various points of a the COVID-19 outbreak and adopt different styles of policing during and after lockdowns.
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Design adequate messaging and social media strategies to efficiently use online communication to interact with affected citizens and ensure compliance with public health restrictions.
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Educate, inform and raise awareness about COVID-19 so that officers do not engage in discriminatory or militarised practices against affected civilians and communities.
Mental Health Support
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Institutionalise pre-crisis training policies to develop the skills and competencies needed for officers to prevent mental health problems
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Encourage and enable the adequate reporting of mental health complaints, and facilitate communication between first responders, peers, and supervisors, through supportive organisational practices.
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Provide appropriate interventions and treatments, such as counselling services, to officers and staff affected by COVID-19.
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Dedicate adequate resources to police officers and their families during and in the aftermath of COVID-19 to address officers' fears and anxieties.
Intra-Organisational Dynamics
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Consult experts and plan for further waves of the pandemic.
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Determine minimum staff levels and create staffing procedures to maintain them.
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Where possible, work-from-home policies should be allowed for officers in risk groups to protect their health and alleviate administrative burdens.
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Communicate crime prevention efforts clearly to the public to reduce the additional demand from COVID-19-related crimes.
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Triage additional activities and ensure tasks are prioritised to ensure additional demand is met.
Multi-Agency Collaboration
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Maintain a national communication infrastructure that allows for intra- and inter-agency communication and facilitates collaboration.
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Take stock of collaborative efforts and the most frequent interactions with partner agencies to allow for exercises and a strengthening of the relationships after the crisis.
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Critically assess shortcomings and issues of inter-agency collaboration and communication.