Join the IACP Vicarious Trauma Response Initiative, EMT Program Director Domenic Corey, Northeastern University (MA), and Firefighter and Paramedic Eric Provow, Fairfax County Fire Department (VA), as they discuss the affects of COVID-19.

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Join the IACP Vicarious Trauma Response Initiative, along with Lisa Tieszen M.A., LICSW and Katherine Manners M.Ed.,for a discussion regarding the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in the victim advocacy field.

Introduction
During the COVID-19 pandemic, information regarding the proper and legal disclosure to law enforcement of protected health information (PHI) of individuals confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19 has been a topic of concern.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule does allow healthcare providers and/or other associated healthcare entities to disclose an individual’s PHI to law enforcement as it relates to COVID-19 infection, exposure, or any other reasonably pertinent information without a signed HIPAA Authorization by the individual.

Disclosure of COVID-19 related PHI to law enforcement
is intended to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 as well as protect the health and safety of first
responders as they carry out their essential duties during
the pandemic.

Understanding the HIPAA Privacy Rule
The HIPAA Privacy Rule, originated in 1996, gives privacy protections to individuals relating to any health information in the possession of their health care providers and/or other associated health care entities (HIPAA-covered entities). HIPAA provides these HIPAA-covered entities with rules on when, and with who, a person’s PHI can or cannot be shared, affording the individuals they serve more rights regarding the distribution of their health information.

Law enforcement agencies are not HIPAA-covered entities and are not subjected to the privacy rules set forth in the HIPAA law nor privy to PHI. There may be exceptions such as when law enforcement agencies operate their own, independent emergency medical services, which would be considered HIPAA-covered agencies.

There are instances where HIPAA-covered agencies can disclose PHI to law enforcement. The most evident example is when a person signs a HIPAA authorization form giving permission to disclose PHI to law enforcement. However, PHI can be disclosed to law enforcement by HIPAA-covered entities in situations
where authorization was not signed. These situations
include when:

• There is a good faith belief of an imminent threat to the health or safety of an individual or the public. This exception applies heavily in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Criminal activity is suspected or involved, such as when:
  • A crime occurring on the premises of a HIPAAcovered entity
  • Patient death
  • Off-site medical emergencies
  • Specific crime-related injuries such as gunshot or stab wounds
  • Identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person
  • Child abuse or neglect
• A legal requirement such as a warrant, a subpoena or summons has been served.
• A law enforcement official makes an administrative request to a HIPAA-covered entity, detailing reasons for the requested information.

A Discussion: PHI Disclosure to Law Enforcement
in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Specific examples where HIPAA-covered entities may
share COVID-19 related PHI with law enforcement
are when:

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are responding to an incident along with law enforcement officers and are aware of a situation where close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 will occur.
• HIPAA-covered entities have a good faith belief that disclosing the relevant PHI will minimize or stop a threat of imminent exposure of COVID-19 to any officers or other personnel.
• Law enforcement officials have lawful custody of an individual or inmate and are requesting the COVID-19 related PHI to maintain the health and safety of that individual and other individuals in custody, correctional staff or others in law enforcement.
• 911 Call Centers have used COVID-19 screening questions and believe an individual(s) may potentially have COVID-19.
  • Depending on whether the call center is a HIPAA covered entity or not may determine the level of PHI information that is given to law enforcement.

Additional COVID-19 HIPAA Considerations for Law
Enforcement
Consider the following when approaching HIPAA concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Understand the fact that HIPAA-covered entities may:
   • Only disclose limited and relevant PHI.
   • Assess whether PHI should be disclosed on a case by case assessment.
   • Not provide a public and/or comprehensive list of COVID-19 positive individuals.
2. Reach out to the following institutions or individuals to help facilitate and streamline the message that COVID-19-related PHI can legally be given to law enforcement for their protection and preparedness:
   • Local, state, and federal government
   • Key political leaders (such as your state governor)
   • HIPAA-covered entities such as local hospitals, long-term care facilities, and local EMS
3. Establish an in-agency system to ensure confidentiality of any PHI disclosed to law enforcement by HIPAA-covered entities. Some examples include designating a single person as the point of contact within the agency to handle COVID-19 PHI information. Divulge PHI information on a case-by-case assessment or remove individuals from any COVID-19 exposure list after a designated amount of time.
4. Communicate your system of confidentiality within the law enforcement community to relevant stakeholders.

Sources

• COVID-19 and HIPAA: Disclosures to law enforcement,paramedics, other first responders and public health
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule: A Guide for Law Enforcement
• CDC Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) authorities

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak presents unique challenges for law enforcement, one of which is safely processing a DUI suspect when appropriate, and in accordance with individual agency guidelines. This tool provides additional considerations for keeping officers and subjects safe from possible COVID-19 exposure.

Based upon recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical representatives and the scientific committee of the IACP
Technical Advisory Panel for the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) Program, the following guidance is solely intended to reduce the risk of exposure.

The IACP urges policing agencies to consider the
following enhanced precautions for officers and DREs
during DUI processing:

1. Strive to maintain a six-foot distance and limit closer proximity without PPE to less than 5 minutes total.
2. Use appropriate precautions for breath testing. During this current coronavirus crisis, consider “blood only” testing, if permitted by your jurisdiction’s policy.
3. Consider conducting DUI processing and DRE Evaluations in an area with good air exchange (where the subject would blow away from the officer), in a large room when possible, and with proper safety precautions including the use of disposable gloves and other personal protective equipment. DREs should consider adding a face shield to your DRE kit (like the one shown or similar). The oral cavity examination during a DRE evaluation poses the highest risk component—Move from side to side to get a better view and avoid standing directly in front of the subject. Face shields should be used within six-feet of the subject, if possible. A face mask on the subject enhances officer safety, and could be removed during an oral cavity examination.
4. Consider asking the subject additional interview questions:
   • Have you received any medical treatment related to COVID-19?
   • Have you been having any fevers or chills in the last few days? (However, remember the effects of some common drugs of abuse can give these sensations).
   • Do you have any “cold” symptoms? Cough, runny nose, sore throat?
   • If COVID-19 is suspected, contact a trained healthcare provider to assess and transport the subject to a healthcare facility, if appropriate.
5. Use proper hand-washing/sanitizing upon completion of the contact.
    

While COVID-19 cases are steadily increasing within the U.S., law enforcement agencies continue to respond to incidents and enforce traffic laws in their communities, despite the operational challenges they may face on roadways due to the pandemic. Below are considerations to take when making traffic stops or conducting traffic safety initiatives.

The following recommendations were created in consultation with a small sample of police agencies from around the United States.

For specific considerations related to impaired driving
during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see the tool,
Processing DUIs during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Considerations for Law Enforcement.

PROCEDURAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR MAKING TRAFFIC STOPS DURING COVID-19
Police officers responding to traffic infractions should consider implementing the following directives:

• Wash or sanitize hands promptly after physically interacting with others. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 70% alcohol. Wash or sanitize hands after coughing or sneezing.
• Maintain safe distancing when conducting traffic stops and other contacts with victims, witnesses, suspects, and others. A minimum of six feet is recommended between individuals. Examples of physical distancing include:
  • Passenger-side approaches
  • Taking statements from at least six feet away
  • Glove use during traffic operations with glove holders being attached to duty belts;
  • Use of electronics:
    • Physical document exchange may be avoided through capturing images of licenses, registrations, etc.; consult agency policy.
    • Physical signatures may not be required; consult agency policy.
    • Use a PA system to give directions.
• Minimize the amount of contact during a traffic stop by reducing time spent at the window with the driver.
• Sanitize items you frequently touch during a shift as COVID-19-infected droplets may be able to live on nearly any surface. Items may include:
  • Phone
  • Laptop
  • Clipboard
  • Pens
  • Patrol car equipment:
    • Steering wheel
    • Seat belt buckles
    • Gear shift
    • Dispatch radio module and microphone
    • Door handles and edges
• Drive with windows open (at least partially) to ventilate the patrol vehicle.
• Wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Wear a mask during interactions with others.
• Use non-latex gloves (nitrile or vinyl). Follow guidance or procedures from your agency for other PPE recommendations or requirements.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS FOR LAW
ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES

Police leaders should consider implementing the
following directives for modifying agency policy and
guiding line officers in their response to traffic infractions.
Also, consider the above procedural guidelines and
determine which (if any) will be added to agency policy
and which will be left to officer discretion.

Prepare Officers
Consider the following to better prepare your officers to
respond to traffic infractions:

• Communicate to officers what violations are essential to uphold public safety, and consider limiting traffic enforcement for non-critical concerns, such as parking violations, expired tags, and inoperable headlights, etc. Consider advising officers to:
  • Stop drivers who are severely threatening safety.
  • Tailor traffic enforcement by only responding to aggressive, egregious violations.
  • Monitor for minor violations that may indicate impairment. Examples include:
    • Driving outside the lanes or aloft of center,
    • Failing to signal,
    • Improper left turns,
    • Running a stop sign, or
    • Failing to yield to oncoming traffic on an Interstate.
• Issue guidance on whether officer response is necessary for minor traffic crashes without injuries and with no indication that an operator is impaired by drugs or alcohol, which may be handled by an exchange of driver information and a report submitted by mail or online. 
• Caution officers to be more mindful and conservative when conducting proactive traffic stops.
• Ensure officers continue to make traffic stops when violations are observed, as departments may observe an increase in speeding. For example, based on 18 days’ worth of data in April 2020, one agency projected:
  • A possible 40% increase in speeds 70 – 79 MPH
  • A possible 500% increase in speeds 100 – 109 MPH8
• Provide training on effective practices for traffic stops during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Develop plans for officers to monitor arterial roadways.
• Discourage unsafe driving practices by keeping officers as visible as possible to the public.
• Consider assigning officers for site security and traffic control in areas such as COVID-19 test sites, grocery stores, and pharmacies.
• Create a plan to safely obtain document information, which may include:
  • Writing down driver license number or insurance number without physically handling the documents. Consider taking a picture of the car with its license plate visible.
  • Wearing gloves and using hand sanitizer afterwards (or washing hands at a sink, if available).
  • Working with your agency’s legal advisor to explore possibilities for suspending the signature requirement on citations.
  • Wiping down the pen with sanitizer before and after use, if you must exchange a pen with others for ticket signatures.
• Equip personnel with appropriate PPE, including but not limited to:
  • N95 masks
  • Nitrile or vinyl gloves
  • Goggles
  • Disinfectant spray and wipes.
• Continue to re-stock supplies by ordering sufficient quantities of PPE.
• Consider suspending duties which are largely impractical in the current environment – for example, Child Passenger Safety Details such as fitting stations, which cannot be completed under state physical distancing mandates.
• Instruct officers to clean and sanitize hands and vehicle interior after conducting a traffic stop:
  • Sanitize and wash patrol vehicles after contact with others through traffic stop or arrests using bleach/sanitizer and water and/or wipes.
  • Park patrol vehicles in a designated garage with windows open to air out after cleaning.
• Instruct officers to shower and wash uniforms at the end of the day. Upon entering home or station house, use grass or sand as a shuffle pit to clean debris from the bottom of work shoes or boots.

Use Technology
Leverage technology, as applicable. For example:

• Consider that automated enforcement may be necessary to help prevent the number and seriousness of traffic collisions.
• Consider use of aviation assets (such as Ohio State Highway Patrol’s TRIAD: Targeting Reckless Intimidating Aggressive Distracted Drivers) to spot violations in a measured speed zone 1-2 miles long, if available.
• Utilize digital speed boards in neighborhoods to remind drivers of their speed.
• Collect speed data to help the department better assign resources.
• Use speed measuring devices to collect data and information on traffic volume.
• Work with traffic safety partners, like the Highway Safety Office, to spread messages such as reminding drivers to:
  • utilize their seat belts just like they are wearing masks;
  • share the road, and
  • be alert for increased pedestrian and bicycle traffic; and
  • focus on driving when behind the wheel.

Communicate with the Public

• Communicate your agency’s traffic enforcement plans to the public. For example:
• Communicate how the agency will be conducting traffic enforcement and what community members should expect in that interaction, including how officers will limit physical contact and maintain physical distance.
• Provide information on the use of speed measuring devices and violations.
• Consider increasing communication through the media by providing positive stories about community engagement. Avoid focusing on only traffic-related issues.

While police agencies will never be able to eliminate close contact, they are developing ways to mitigate the risk of virus transmission to protect their officers and community members. This will be an ongoing process. Some agencies have observed a shift in driver’s attitudes and reactions. Consider the driver’s state of mind, as this is a stressful time for everyone.

Police leaders, community members, and elected officials all play a crucial role in moving constructive public safety efforts forward. The tools below provide policy considerations and tangible strategies to support police and communities in their efforts to engage in productive dialogue, form strong partnerships, and identify meaningful solutions. At a time when agencies are looking to assess their policies and procedures to maximize community–police engagement, these tools provide a meaningful base to help public safety stakeholders develop a strong, consistent foundation.

When gathering evidence during the investigation of sexual assault crimes, it is necessary for law enforcement and others in the criminal justice system, such as prosecutors, to ask the victim questions that they may find difficult to answer, in order to establish the facts and circumstances of a reported crime.

The phrasing of questions during victim interviews is important. Depending on how a question is asked, it might be perceived by a victim as blaming them for their actions, or for what they may be unable to recall. This document demonstrates how trauma-informed interview techniques can be used to reframe these questions in a manner that helps victims retrieve memories from a traumatic event and assists law enforcement in gathering more information while making the victim feel more supported and increasing the likelihood that they stay involved in the criminal justice process.

Download the Successful Trauma Informed Victim Interviewing document in English and Spanish. 

Responding to crimes against persons is considered an essential function of policing. Victims of sexual assault may face greater barriers to reporting crimes, accessing help, and obtaining support due to public health orders such as stay-at-home mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the inherent difficulties of a global pandemic, law enforcement agencies can incorporate flexibility and innovation into both current and cold case sexual assault response efforts to ensure they are meeting the complex needs of victims, while also meeting the safety requirements of agency personnel, collaborating partners, and community members. Agency leaders should consider the following modified practices outlined in this tool to ensure agency personnel are able to safely perform essential duties related to sexual assault crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INITIAL RESPONSE
During initial response to reported incidents of adult sexual assault, law enforcement personnel may be the first contact (physical or emotional) since the assault. Due to possible heightened safety and privacy concerns currently, consider adjusting practices to allow victims to determine the location and time for the initial report. Renewed activity in a cold case sexual assault may also result in contact with victims to notify of sexual assault kit results and case status. It is important to consider modifying contact practices to account for current safety and privacy concerns as well as travel restrictions for victims who live in another jurisdiction. The following suggested adjustments may enhance long-term engagement efforts with victims.

When contacting victims, first responders should:

• Pay special attention to their own eye contact, voice tone, speech patterns, and body language to convey genuine concern as personal protective equipment and physical distancing practices may impact the quality of interactions with victims.
• Incorporate information about current support and advocacy options available to the victim.

INTERVIEW AND CONTACT PRACTICES
During the COVID-19 pandemic, agencies should:

• Continue to initiate, conduct, and document investigations, interviews, and contact with crime victims in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and directives; and in accordance with victims’ rights, and account for the safety and privacy concerns of those involved.
• Utilize multiple communication avenues (virtual platforms, mobile phone, email, text) to contact victim, witness, and suspect both locally and in other jurisdictions.
• Consider expanding access for people without transportation options or those facing travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis.
• Ensure language access needs are addressed in tandem with expanded communication avenues (e.g., arranging for professional interpreters who can participate in virtual and in-person communication; arranging for professional translation services for email and text communication).

EVIDENCE COLLECTION
It is critical to ensure agency personnel keep informed of policy modifications due to COVID-19 related to crime scene evidence and sexual assault forensic exams. Documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence are crucial steps in criminal investigation and often provide the basis for effective identification and prosecution of offenders. While multiple agency practices have been modified due to the COVID-19 crisis, it is essential to ensure agency personnel at the patrol, supervisory, investigative, and crime scene unit levels have a thorough understanding of how to proceed safely with the:

• identification of crime scenes,
• collection of evidence (e.g. clothing, bedding, DNA, photos of scenes and injuries), and
• submission of evidence to the lab.

Investigative activity on cold case sexual assault may also require modification to practices relating to revisiting crime scenes for photos and reviewing evidence for possible additional collection or submission efforts.
Agencies should:

• Cross-train personnel for effective and efficient evidence collection (e.g., between crime scene units and patrol, or between types of evidence within the crime scene unit).
• Assess evidence collection needs related to the lowest number of personnel to safely fulfill the need.

It is important for agency personnel to stay informed of policy modifications associated with sexual assault forensic exams for the collection of evidence from both victims and suspects (e.g., hospital entrance policies, exam locations, procedures for picking up evidence). In addition, agencies should work with correctional facilities to modify practices on how to continue to collect DNA from incarcerated suspects despite entrance restrictions due to infection control practices.

EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS
It is essential to work closely with criminal justice and community partners to ensure all parties are aware of the others’ current practices resulting from changes due to COVID-19. Agencies should:

• Communicate with the public on partnerships and actions being taken to support victims and hold offenders accountable in both current and cold case sexual assault response.
• Reinforce collaboration and remind community members of available services. For example:
  • Consider joint media releases
  • Cross-populate agency practices on partner websites and through resource material.
• Conduct multidisciplinary meetings {i.e. Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) multidisciplinary team (MDT)} through virtual communication avenues and adjust the frequency of meetings to ensure all partners have the most current information possible.
• Review practice changes around sexual assault forensic exams (victims and suspects), advocacy (community and system-based), prosecution, evidence (collection, submission, and testing), court procedures (civil and criminal), and jail practices.
• Establish new partnerships such as those with media, health officials, and businesses deemed as essential during the pandemic that could communicate important response practices to community members in need.

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS
Agency leadership and supervisors hold responsibility for setting effective response expectations to current and cold case sexual assault and often co-occurring crimes of domestic violence, stalking, and strangulation. Efforts to maintain regular agency response while following additional COVID-19 safety precautions are important. As restrictions ease around COVID-19 response, it is reasonable to assume that victims choosing to report sexual assault to law enforcement may increase. This may be due to reduced fears of contracting COVID-19,  increased ability to physically separate from suspects, increased options for privacy, increased mobility options, and increased access to reporting mechanisms. Factor this potential reporting increase into future staffing plans to ensure appropriate and timely sexual assault response.

Leaders and supervisors are encouraged to utilize times of decreased reporting to ensure effective investigative and victims’ rights practices in both current and cold case response are being exercised. Agency personnel can be directed toward completion of non-contact investigative actions such as:

• Completion of evidence inventories,
• Review and submission of additional evidence for testing,
• Review of audio and video recordings,
• Review of social media and cloud-based accounts,
• Review of jail calls,
• Comprehensive review of additional crime reports involving identified suspects,
• Completion of timelines for key case and suspect activity,
• Completion of entries into Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, and consultation with other law enforcement agencies for case connectivity,
• Communication with prosecutors around case preparation in alignment with modified court docket schedules,
• Evaluation of internal practices and tasks in connection with skills and abilities of both sworn and professional staff with possible modifications to assigned responsibilities, and
• Consideration of policy modifications beyond temporary practice changes.

Agency leaders and supervisors are encouraged to take intentional steps to maintain flexible and innovative practices to augment the essential function of effective sexual assault response beyond the current pandemic into the future.
 

Victims of domestic violence may face an increase in violence and greater barriers to accessing help as stay at-home orders force them to spend more time with their abuser and physical distancing orders isolate them from support. It is common for victims of domestic violence to also be victims of sexual assault, stalking, and strangulation, as these crimes are co-occurring and interconnected and reflect some tactics that abusers use to maintain power and control.

To reach and support vulnerable victims of domestic violence who are at increased risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, law enforcement agencies should:

Be Aware of Escalated Abuse to victims due to the suspect and victim being in close quarters for an extended period due to physical distancing measures and the resulting reduction in activities outside the home. Additionally, the increase in firearms and ammunition sales at the outset of the pandemic in the United States and Canada can create an escalated risk to both the victim and responding officer(s).

Keep Staff Informed of the increased risks that victims may face due to COVID-19. Maintain agency response and outreach to victims of crime and ensure that agency members can provide accurate, up-to-date information, guidance, and resources to victims. This includes reiterating that agency policy is to continue arresting for domestic violence and related charges. Agency employees should also be aware of changes in the availability of support services, changes in guidance on emergency department visits for victim injuries, and changes to court processes and protection order filings and hearings.

Consider sharing resources such as the Battered
Women’s Justice Project’s Coercive Control during
COVID-19: New Tactics training video with officers
during roll call.

Enforce and Oversee Agency Policies to ensure officers understand how they are expected to respond to nonviolent and violent crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and strangulation. Leadership should work to maintain regular agency response to these crimes, including thorough investigations and consideration of co-occurring crimes like child abuse, elder abuse, and animal abuse, while following additional COVID-19 safety precautions.

Provide Consistent Messaging about supporting victims of crime through all available communication channels to help agencies maintain trust and inform the community and victims of available resources. Victims may have limited access to communication channels if abusers control their access to internet, cell phone, friends, and family. Expanding outreach through nontraditional routes to make victims aware of their options for community-based resources can help to fill this gap. For example, consider:

• including resource lists in food bank boxes that are distributed in the community.
• posting public information notices at grocery stores, pharmacies, and other public places.
• educating the public through social media or public service announcements (PSA) on the resources and social services available, one example is this NOBLE Domestic Violence PSA, a 30-second video from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).

Work in Partnership with criminal justice and community partners to ensure your community knows partners are still working to support victims and hold offenders accountable. Consider regular calls or virtual meetings and a joint news release with multidisciplinary partners to make it clear that all stand together and ready, despite the inherent difficulties of a global pandemic.

Adapt Technology to facilitate investigations, protection order hearings, and court proceedings, as many jurisdictions are doing during COVID-19. While providing access through digital platforms is important, it is equally important that these platforms protect the privacy of victims and are compliant with federal and local laws, as well as grant funding requirements for the agencies and organizations using them, which may include HIPAA, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) requirements. Consult your agency’s legal advisor for further considerations.

Prepare for Increases in Reporting as shelter-in-place orders are lifted and businesses and courts resume in-person practices. Police and service providers may experience a surge in victims reporting crimes and accessing services. Police should be prepared to respond fully (for example, police should have PPE with them should they need to enter an individual’s home). Agencies should also consult and coordinate with criminal justice stakeholders including prosecutors and court personnel to help ensure cases are processed effectively.
Be aware of the effects of COVID-19 on victims, abusers, and abuse:

• Isolation: With physical distancing, sheltering-in-place, and businesses closed or having employees work from home, many victims are rarely leaving their homes or seeing friends/family. Abusers may use COVID-19 as an excuse to further restrict victims’ movements, controlling where they go and when. This means victims have fewer opportunities to be alone and call family, friends, or hotlines for support. Abusers may also try to use COVID-19 as an excuse to keep officers away and out of the house, deny access to victims and witnesses, etc. Officers should still proceed and not be deterred but should ensure proper PPE is utilized according to agency policy and public health recommendations.
• Access to Housing: Abusers are leveraging physical distancing and fears of COVID-19 to control victims. Support services report that abusers are weaponizing COVID-19 by refusing to allow victims to leave their homes, threatening to kick the victim out if they get sick, or threatening to kick them out so they do get sick. Victims may also be reluctant to go to shelters out of fear of getting COVID-19.
• Access to Cleaning and Sanitizing Products: National hotlines are reporting that abusers are controlling access to soap and cleaning supplies or are using it as another form of physical abuse by forcing victims to wash their hands until they are raw and bloody.
• Access to Medication: Abusers may withhold victims’ medications or access to medical care to make them more susceptible to serious illness from COVID-19.
• Income: Victims may have lost income due to COVID-19 and have limited or no economic independence, preventing them from leaving unsafe environments. Lost income for the family may escalate financial stress and become a tool of abuse/power/control.
• Technology Abuse: With physical distancing requiring many to stay in one place and heavily rely on technology, victims are at an elevated risk of technology abuse. Abusers often control and track victims’ phones and computers and may control online interactions to limit victims’ access to the outside world and information. Abusers can also access smart devices and manipulate victims’ homes from anywhere.
• Parenting and Children: With many schools and childcare centers closed, children become another tool for abusers over which to exert power and control. Children then become more vulnerable to witnessing domestic violence and experiencing child abuse.
• Be aware of the effects of COVID-19 on support services, courts, and jail protocols:
• Community Resources: Agency administration should stay connected with shelters and service providers to provide the most up-to-date information about changes in capacity and access and should share this information with officers. Housing and resource options will be strained during this time, suspension of public transportation services may impact safety plans, and food banks may not be a stable food option. Explore additional opportunities for partnerships through the hospitality and transportation industries to increase access to resources for victims.
• Protection Orders: The process to obtain a protective order may have changed, and courts may have extended all temporary/emergency protective orders. Agencies should communicate with local courts about any changes in protocol and explain changes directly to victims and victim advocates.
• Jail Protocols: Many jails are adjusting their protocols to reduce their detained population to limit the spread of COVID-19. While people who have committed violent offenses are largely still being held, victims should be notified if their abuser is not going to be held or is only going to be held for a short period of time so that they can adjust their safety plan.

During this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, there are many needs arising at police agencies around the world. Police foundations are stepping up to help law enforcement in many ways. As police foundations engage with the community to secure funding and provide services that will benefit their departments, foundations act as an important liaison among the community, businesses, and the police agency. Police foundations help departments to achieve their public safety goals and are an avenue to accept both financial and in-kind support from interested donors. Therefore, police foundations are in an ideal spot to provide critical support to a police agency during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police foundations can help their local police agencies
and first responder community by:

• Purchasing protective gear such as infrared thermometers, nitrile gloves, masks, hand sanitizing wipes, and hand sanitizer
• Working to supply departments with hygiene kits, towels, and cell phone chargers for round the clock operations
• Funding professional decontamination of police facilities and equipment
• Providing sanitizer stations for police facilities
• Securing alternative housing for officers who are sick or need to isolate themselves from family members at greater risk of complications if infected with COVID-19
• Securing a COVID-19 testing center for exclusive use by first responders and other essential local employees
• Installing mobile trailers equipped with cameras and license plate readers to address areas with an uptick of crime due to no schools in session Coordinating meal and snack donations and deliveries to first responders
• Providing barbers and shoe shiners safely to ensure officers still can maintain uniform standards during this time
• Helping to promote messaging to the community on behalf of their police agencies and/or local community government, including promoting compliance with public health orders
• Promoting messages of gratitude and support for law enforcement through social media campaigns
• Providing teachers and/or parents with workbooks and coloring pages from officer-friendly programs for home schooling.

For more information on Police Foundations, please visit
these resources:

• IACP Police Foundations Section
• Investing in Community Safety: A Practical Guide to Forming and Sustaining Police Foundations 

For over 125 years, the IACP has advanced the policing profession through our advocacy, research, outreach, and education in order to provide for safer officers and communities worldwide. The IACP has remained steadfastly committed to its mission, and as we reflect on the past year and move into a new decade, we will continue to advance and help shape the future of the policing profession. IACP is pleased to release the 2019 video Annual Report in five different languages. 

View in Spanish 

View in Portuguese 

View in French 

View in Arabic 

Developing a multidisciplinary anti-human trafficking task force is a process that requires significant time, attention, and intention. In recognition of the challenges involved in this process, the roadmap provides new and experienced anti-human trafficking task forces alike with guidance to assess and plan task force development from start to sustainability. 

For more information, please contact the IACP Anti-Human Trafficking team at [email protected] or visit the IACP Anti-Human Trafficking Webpage. 

This document was produced under grants 2015-VT-BX-K001 awarded to the International Association of Chiefs of Police by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and 2016-VF-GX-K014 awarded to Erin Y. Albright, JD, by the Office for Victims of Crime. Both the Office for Victims of Crime and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are components of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the SMART Office. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed are those of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.