Assessing the role of COVID-19 stressors on perceptions of police misconduct in Bosnia and Herzegovina
| Published date | 01 January 2025 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14773708241264445 |
| Author | Marijana M. Kotlaja,Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovich,Jon Maskály,Sandra Kobajica,Peter Neyroud |
| Date | 01 January 2025 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Assessing the role of COVID-19
stressors on perceptions of
police misconduct in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
Marijana M. Kotlaja
University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA
Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovich
Michigan State University, USA
Jon Maskály
University of North Dakota, USA
Sandra Kobajica
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Peter Neyroud
University of Cambridge, UK
Abstract
The current study applies the key components of GST to explore the relationship between stress
and misconduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the answers provided by a sample
of 480 police officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and discovered that the relationship between
strain and willingness to engage in police misconduct during the pandemic is complex; not all types
of stressors were related to all forms of police misconduct included in our study. The two stron-
gest organizational stressors were perceptions that the police agency was ineffective in dealing
with the pandemic and that there was a lack of personal protective equipment for police officers.
Fear for their own personal health, fear of COVID-19, and concerns that COVID-19 is much more
Corresponding author:
Marijana M. Kotlaja, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Missouri-Kansas City,
Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.
Email: Marijana.kotlaja@umkc.edu
Article
European Journal of Criminology
2025, Vol. 22(1) 106–126
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14773708241264445
journals.sagepub.com/home/euc
dangerous than the flu were significant personal stressors related to their willingness to engage in
police misconduct. Police’s own willingness not to wear a mask and to visit friends and family with
whom they do not live decreased the perception that the community is not adhering to the
COVID-19 rules and regulations. Living with a partner was also negatively associated with the
respondents’willingness to engage in misconduct.
Keywords
Bosnia and Herzegovina, GST, pandemic, policing
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected how policing is done (e.g.,
Alexander and Ekici, 2020; Lum et al., 2020a, 2020b; Maskály et al., 2021a, 2021b).
On the one hand, police officers had to protect themselves by wearing personal protective
equipment (PPE), reorganizing their organization and operation, and limiting contact
with the public. On the other hand, they had to keep providing regular services to the
public and start enforcing the newly enacted COVID-19 governmental rules and regula-
tions, often with a need for more clear guidelines and adequate police training. The fear of
getting infected for both police officers themselves and their families served as a notable
stressor during the pandemic for many in the police community (e.g., Bapna et al., 2021;
Duxbury and Campeau, 2021; Huang et al., 2021; Jennings and Perez, 2020; Sener et al.,
2021; Wu et al., 2021). The growing body of extant literature on stress during the pan-
demic (e.g., Bapna et al., 2021; Duxbury and Campeau, 2021; Huang et al., 2021; Li
et al., 2022; Sener et al., 2021; Wu et al., 2021) identified various other stressors triggered
during the pandemic, from personal factors (e.g., lack of sleep, fear of COVID-19 infec-
tion) to organizational factors (e.g., heavy workloads, unclear rules) that influenced police
officers’well-being.
Prior research consistently documents a positive association between police officers’
high levels of stress and a host of deleterious outcomes, including cynicism, emotional
detachment, reduced efficiency, alcoholism and other substance abuse problems, and
marital and other family problems (Brown and Campbell, 1990; Kohan and O’Conner,
2002; Paton et al., 1999; Podsakoff et al., 2007). One such negative outcome of high
stress could be police misconduct. A handful of studies conducted before the
COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Arter, 2007; Bishopp et al., 2016, 2020; Swatt et al., 2007)
consistently showed that occupational stress, particularly if coupled with anger, is
related to police officers’willingness to engage in police misconduct. Yet, prior
studies on policing and the COVID-19 pandemic did not explore the link between
various stressors, particularly pandemic-induced ones, and a key deleterious outcome:
willingness to engage in police misconduct.
Agnew’s (1985, 2006) general strain theory (GST) offers perhaps a systematic explan-
ation for the oft-observed link between stress and crime. GST (Agnew, 1992) argues that
highly stressful events and conditions generate powerful negative emotions—such as
anger and anxiety—that trigger adaptive responses that can lead to deviant behavior.
Extant research (Agnew and White, 1992; Aseltine et al., 2000; Bao et al., 2007; Hay,
2003; Jang and Johnson, 2003; Mazerolle et al., 2003; Moon et al., 2009; Morash and
Kotlaja et al. 107
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