The role of bounded-authority concerns in shaping citizens' duty to obey authorities during COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the introduction of extra-ordinary restrictions to mitigate its spread. Authorities rely on the public's voluntary willingness to obey these restrictions, yet the intrusive nature of these measures may lead some people to believe that authorities are overstepping the limits of their rightful power (i.e. bounded-authority). This paper applies the bounded-authority framework to the COVID-19 context to understand the factors associated with the public's duty to obey authorities during COVID-19.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilizes survey data from 1,582 individuals to examine what factors drive COVID-19-related bounded-authority concerns, and in turn, how bounded-authority concerns may impact one's duty to obey authorities during COVID-19.

Findings

Results show that worry about freedom loss, opposition to surveillance tactics, police heavy-handedness and perceptions of procedural injustice from police during the pandemic all drive bounded-authority concerns. Findings also reveal that bounded-authority concerns are associated with reduced duty to obey and mediate the relationship between procedural justice and the duty to obey authorities' enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions.

Originality/value

Findings reveal new evidence about the bounded-authority framework and the public's duty to obey authorities, with implications for the COVID-19 context and beyond.

Citation

Williamson, H., Murphy, K., Sargeant, E. and McCarthy, M. (2022), "The role of bounded-authority concerns in shaping citizens' duty to obey authorities during COVID-19", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 169-185. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-03-2022-0036