@article{MRA, author = {Hamid Bohloli and Fahimeh Rabbanikhah and Azad Shokri}, title = { Governing COVID-19: The Complex Relationship between Government Type and Police Enforcement Intensity: A Scoping Review}, journal = {Medical Research Archives}, volume = {12}, number = {9}, year = {2024}, keywords = {}, abstract = {Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant challenges to global health and economic and social aspects. The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented and unforeseen challenges to public health systems in the early 21st century and created a set of challenges for police departments worldwide. Countries with varied political approaches utilized the police in diverse ways to control the pandemic. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to map the existing literature to respound to this question that “how does government type influenced the deployment of police during Covid-19 pandemic”? We searched electronic databases such as PubMed and Scopus. We included studies that were conducted in independent countries with different types of governance indicated by democracy score in Economist Intelligence Unit and published data on their police deployment in controlling COVID-19. We identified papers published 2020-2022, from which we selected 24 publications about 21 countries that met our inclusion criteria. We used a four-zone model of Governance Policing Types to plot the countries based on their government type and the extent of police deployment. Results: Based on this model we present and synthesise results in accordance with the type of governance and the police deployment in controlling COVID-19. This model demonstrates a discernible relationship between government type and the degree of police involvement in managing epidemiological crises. Research findings suggest that in pandemic emergencies, the type of governance and effective response of the police ensure public safety and individual rights. We found a complex relationship among government type, police enforcement, and COVID-19 control. Our review identifies possible ideological and security-related biases impacting the representation of COVID-19 police responses in the analyzed studies. Conclusion: Quality of governance and police involvement are essential in managing pandemics. Democratic countries generally have better decision-making, and have higher resilience. Authoritarian countries were able to make decisions more quickly. Countries that combined both quality and speed of decision-making achieved outstanding results. A balanced approach in maintaining public health and individual rights is needed. Community-oriented policing could be a solution. More research is needed to understand the long-term effects of the police performance during the COVID-19 era.}, issn = {2375-1924}, doi = {10.18103/mra.v12i9.5562}, url = {https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/5562} }