Images of police in riot gear between the fruit and vegetable stalls at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market were beamed around the world last month.
The pictures made their way to newspapers including The Washington Post and put Victoria’s heavy-handed approach to COVID lockdown very much in the global spotlight – even if the Premier himself didn’t read about it.
On their own, the pictures portray police cracking down hard on those who defy directions made by the state’s chief health officer to stay indoors – a crackdown that has resulted in more than 20,000 fines.
But fair-minded viewers know there are two sides to the story. Police have responded with force when needed but they have also been forced to deal with more than their fair share of rule-breakers fuelled by conspiracy theories and a mob mentality.
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Striking the right balance has been a difficult task, but behavioural economists say there is a good reason for that.
Writing in The Conversation, Robert Hoffman from RMIT’s Behavioural Business Lab and Meg Elkins from RMIT’s School of Economics, Finance and Marketing say enforcement of brand new rules is “highly problematic”.
“Till now the approach of the Victorian Government has been very blunt indeed,” they wrote.
“Its stage 4 rules have been among the more severe imposed in any democracy in the world.
“These rules have been criticised as excessive or unnecessary, but they have been simple and straightforward. Both to follow and to enforce.
“This the Victorian police force has done with zeal, empowered by harsh fines for breaches of public health directives.”
They argue the problem for Victoria Police and for Premier Daniel Andrews, however, is that “humans aren’t necessarily rational” and choose to break the rules, in part, because they are simply doing what they have always done – activities that were previously perfectly legal.
“Driven by feelings rather than cognitive assessments, most of us inaccurately assess probabilities. Behavioural research suggests 80 per cent of us are prone to optimism bias when assessing personal risk. We tend to underestimate the likelihood of experiencing bad events such as divorce, being in a car accident, contracting a disease or getting caught breaking the rules.
“This makes Victoria’s next stage of norm-enforcement highly problematic, given behaviour now outlawed isn’t criminal per se, but what used to be normal socialising.”
They cite polling from last month that showed just 11 per cent of Victorians believe Victoria Police are acting honestly and ethically compared to 37 per cent three years ago.
The Victorian approach has been heavily criticised by the state’s opposition, but Daniel Andrews remains a popular leader among Victorians.
Despite the support, the rules have made headlines around the world.
The BBC recently focused on the protests that saw police clash with members of the public at Queen Victoria Market.
“While the entire state of Victoria has been in lockdown since early July, Melbourne – the state’s capital – has been under tighter restrictions,” the BBC wrote.
NBC reported on the “surreal” nature of military members being tasked with knocking on Melburnians’ doors during lockdown.
“They are living under some of the most draconian lockdown restrictions in the world,” NBC wrote. “And any hope people had of returning to something like normality has been abandoned.”
And the Las Vegas Sun wrote that Melbourne’s lockdown was causing a rift between police and the public.
“The Melbourne restrictions, including a night curfew, were put in place in an attempt to reduce a huge spike in infections and deaths.”
Through it all, the Premier and chief health officer have maintained they are doing the right thing to protect Victorians and keep case numbers under control.
After a second wave that saw daily increases of more than 700 cases a day, Victoria on Tuesday recorded just one new case.
It appears the rules, however unpopular, are working.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMioQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9uZXdzL3ZpY3RvcmlhLWNvdmlkMTktcnVsZXMtd2h5LXBvbGljZS1hcmUtaGF2aW5nLWEtaGFyZC10aW1lLXdpdGgtbG9ja2Rvd24vbmV3cy1zdG9yeS82OWY3MDc4ZTE5MTZhNmI0ZmE2ODhhMDYwYTUzNDVjY9IBoQFodHRwczovL2FtcC5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9uZXdzL3ZpY3RvcmlhLWNvdmlkMTktcnVsZXMtd2h5LXBvbGljZS1hcmUtaGF2aW5nLWEtaGFyZC10aW1lLXdpdGgtbG9ja2Rvd24vbmV3cy1zdG9yeS82OWY3MDc4ZTE5MTZhNmI0ZmE2ODhhMDYwYTUzNDVjYw?oc=5
2020-10-20 13:16:33Z
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