The Impact of Lockdown on Police Service Calls During the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Dai, Mengliang; Xia, Yiwei; Han, Rongxu

Police service calls have been studied widely in the Western context, but they are rarely discussed in the Chinese context. For the context of this study, it is important to note that the Chinese authorities implemented the strictest lockdown after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Drawing on the data from a county-level city in Hubei province, this study examines changes in the quantity and nature of 110 service calls before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The results indicate that the average weekly call numbers before and after the lockdown were higher than during the lockdown. Meanwhile, different call types produced different patterns, though the weekly call totals decreased during the lockdown. There was a significant decrease in crime, traffic, and dispute calls, but a substantial increase in calls related to domestic violence, public security, and other issues. Changes in the frequency of different call types pose challenges to police departments. These findings will have implications for deploying police forces and allocating resources within the pandemic crisis in particular.