April 2, 2020
We are dismayed to see public health officials calling on elected officials to enforce shelter-in-place orders through policing. We are further alarmed to see that states are already beginning to put in place checkpoints enforced by police and instituting fines and jail time for those who violate stay-at-home orders.
As public health professionals, researchers, advocates, and authors of the American Public Health Association’s statement on law enforcement violence, we want to state clearly: policing and punishment do not protect public health.
In fact, research shows that policing and surveillance are harmful to health. Young people of color and other marginalized individuals and communities, as always, will likely be the main targets during police enforcement of the shelter-in-place order, leading to ever deepening health inequities. Fines will disproportionately impact those who are experiencing poverty and increase housing instability just as this crisis underscores the necessity of housing for all. Detaining more people at a time when our prisons and jails should be emptied to promote health is grossly irresponsible. Fear of contact with law enforcement creates barriers to seeking health care and other health-supportive services. Policing will likely worsen the effects of the virus itself and further harm those who experience structural marginalization and already face harassment from law enforcement.
The American Public Health Association urges federal, state, tribal, and municipal governments to “fund programs that meet human needs, promote healthy and strong communities, and reduce structural inequities,” including by diverting resources from law enforcement agencies (see Action Steps 4 and 7 of policy statement). We must align with this guidance now more urgently than ever.
Communities are facing unprecedented hardship and guaranteed homes, income, and job security are the things that will enable us to stay home and stay safe. Without this, punitive measures will not increase people’s compliance with shelter-in-place orders, but will continue to put people at increased health risk. The health harms of policing will exacerbate the burden to the healthcare system’s financial and human resources. Responding to this crisis by investing in punishment when so many have lost their jobs and can’t pay for rent or groceries is a gross misuse of resources.
We need a public health approach to this pandemic, one that is compassionate and inclusive. We need to invest in community health, housing, and job supports that not only help people shelter-in-place, but also help them weather and recover from the long-term economic impacts of COVID-19.
