Beginning Monday, March 16th, several police officers will be available Monday through Friday between the hours 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM to take police reports over the phone for certain types of calls. This service will be used in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus currently affecting our state and will continue until further notice. The types of calls that our officers will take over the phone are those that do not require an on-scene investigation to be conducted, evidence to be collected, or otherwise require an officer to respond to the scene. Residents having incident’s meeting these criteria are encouraged to utilize this service.
The goal of this temporary procedure is to help cut down on unnecessary in-person contact and help mitigated the risks associated with person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus. We feel that because our officers interact with many people throughout the day, having them unnecessarily interact with residents, many of which are considered ‘vulnerable’, is a prudent and judicious approach to limiting a possible exposure.
If it is determined that a response by an officer is warranted, please understand that they are likely to keep a “safe distance” and unlikely to shake hands, etc. Again, this is out of an abundance of caution to keep our staff and the public safe and not an indicator of the officers’ willingness to help.
OFFICERS WILL ALWAYS RESPOND TO CRIMES OF VIOLENCE AND CRIMES AGAINST A PERSON.
Rest assured that we are here for you, as you would expect. IF YOU NEED US, CALL US. The only thing we are temporarily changing is the manner in which we provide our services not the quality of the services we provide.
We will continue to monitor the constantly evolving recommendations for health and safety as they relate to COVID-19.
Thank you for your cooperation.