Page 33 - March April 2020 TPA

Crowd + Riot Control (Continued):
by blocking streets along their path. When the
crowd has nowhere left to go and its movement
is halted, many will stop and come to their senses,
beginning to act independently again.

Riots during tense pandemic situations are often
inevitable, but law enforcement officers can do
their part to limit public frustration that causes
such situations. Open communication goes a long
way. Officers should work with public health and
political officials to inform the public of updates
and critical information. Officers should reassure The best way
the public about the efforts personnel are taking
to maintain safety and normal operations. As to handle a riot
the pandemic situation progresses and social
distancing becomes forced rather than voluntary, situation is to
the public will understandably become upset.
Knowing these threats beforehand is the best cooperate with
way to be prepared to handle them better.
Agencies who are aware of the areas most at risk fellow officers,
for riots can then work with officials to mitigate the
threats. Having plans in place to station personnel maintain good
at hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, and
other high-risk areas can alleviate the potential communication

for serious events.
with each other,
As mentioned earlier, many states have begun
banning gatherings of more than ten people, and and have strength

some have even given their citizens curfews. As
these types of unprecedented restrictions go into in numbers.
place, people will become frustrated and may
rebel. Officers need to be ready to assist state
and local governments in enforcing curfews and
social distancing.

Scams:
Unfortunately, criminals have found many ways
to take advantage of frightened people during
a tumultuous time, targeting those that are
uninformed and do not know any better. Several
different scams relating to the COVID-19 outbreak
have been popping up across the country. There
have been reports of emails circulating that are
made to look like official CDC correspondence
containing “critical” information about COVID-19.
The emails contain a link to what appears to be

26 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140 Texas Police Journal