Covid-19 - Policing the Pandemic
This project began through the research team’s involvement in advising Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Research focus
For the first time in Scotland, approval has been granted to link health data to police records of those who were subject to enforcement for non-compliance with the public health regulations.
This project will examine non-compliance through the lens of health and social vulnerability, and will make recommendations about future potential regulatory measures in the context of public health emergency.
The project began in 2021.
Data this research aims to link and analyse
- Police Scotland Fixed Penalty Notices data
- Public Health Scotland's Covid-19 Database
Potential to link these datasets with the following for further work:
- Scotland's Census
- Criminal History Database data
Research team
Professor Susan McVie and Vicky Gorton
Research lead, Susan McVie, has received further funding from UKRI/ESRC's Covid-19 Rapid Response Award enabling her to expand her policing the pandemic research. Together with Dr Kath Murray and Dr Ben Matthews, they carried out research from March 2021 for 2 years to assess the role of enforcement in securing compliance with the coronavirus regulations. Additional research has been continued by the Research Team from April 2023.
