CORONA CRIMEBUSTER
Police say they’re handling fewer calls - with the exception of domestic violence
There would seem to be few positives associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that has sent residents sheltering in their homes for the past couple of weeks, but one good thing to have emerged is an apparent reduction in crime.
“Our call volume is low, it’s definitely decreased,” said Upper Darby Acting Superintendent of Police Tim Bernhardt. “What we are seeing is not a spike, but we’re just seeing retail thefts. And what we’ve done is we’ve assigned extra patrols in the areas where those thefts are occurring in what stores are open, but other than that, touch wood, the call volume is down.”
As of Friday, Bernhardt said those extra patrols effectively reduced those theft calls to zero over the previous 48 hours. There was one theft from a vehicle call during that period, he said. But even when they were coming in, the items being stolen were typically from four of the larger grocery stores that have remained open as “life-sustaining businesses” under closure orders from Gov. Tom Wolf and were not for high-end items of any kind.
“It’s just people going in for food items, whether it be meat, or poultry, or bread, or milk, and they’re walking out with it,” said Bernhardt. “We’re not seeing any toilet paper or anything like that. It’s food, it’s necessities, anywhere between $25 and $100 worth of items. And since we’ve assigned those extra details, we haven’t had any thefts in 48 hours.”
“Certain types of crimes have slowed down, but we have had an uptick in domestic-related type calls,” said Chester Police Commissioner Otis Blair. “That’s to be expected. People are stuck in a house with each other, getting on each other’s nerves. People are suffering from cabin fever.”
Delaware County Emergency Services Director Tim Boyce said his team is tracking domestic violence and suicide calls to see if there are any trends developing, and has been reporting
retail its findings to a Corona Task Force that includes health professionals, mental health experts and support agencies.
“I think they are key indicators of where we need to be with behavioral health and community support,” said Boyce. “We haven’t seen a surge in those yet, but it is something we are daily monitoring and reporting out. With our partners and community groups, we’re all preparing to ramp up behavioral health, mental health services. But every day that’s a crisis for a lot of people in Delaware County and we want to make sure that if we see trends in those things that we’re addressing them.”
Eddystone Police Lt. Joseph Pretti also reported that calls have slowed down and police there are handling minor issues over the phone. He said arrests in the past month included two for assault, 12 for retail theft, five arrests on warrants, two theft arrests, five drug arrests and one warrant issued for a strongarmed robbery. Three of the drug arrests were for simple possession in the last seven days, all for methamphetamine, Pretti said.
“We have received reports in the county that some criminal enterprise groups are advising people that the police are afraid to do anything because of the virus,” he added. “I can assure you that if a crime is committed in Eddystone, arrests will be made.”
Blair and Bernhardt said officers have also been directed to be more visible and change the way they handle many calls. Bernhardt said there hasn’t been an increase in manpower, but with officers handling minor calls over the phone or in-house over the computer, they are not as tied up as they might normally be and can be out patrolling more.
“There are some calls that come in that we just absolutely have to respond to, but even if the officers do have to respond, they’ve been discouraged from going into people’s homes and we’ve asked people to step outside the residence or business to have a conversation,” said Blair. “If we have a conversation, we’re still trying to observe social distancing.”
Blair said arrests have become something of a last resort at this point as his department tries to limit officers’ exposure where it can. Police have been instructed to limit the amount of pedestrian and vehicle stops they’re making unless absolutely necessary, and he is limiting access inside the police station as well.
Chester Police Captain James Chubb said approximately 1,500 calls of service were generated and 151 reports were put into the report system since the “stayat-home” order went into effect March 23. The “part one” crimes included in those figures are for one homicide, one shooting, one stabbing, four burglaries and two robberies, he said.
“Looking at last year’s numbers during the same time period, it appears as if
2,300 calls of service were generated,” Chubb said. “Please keep in mind, however, that this number includes vehicle stops as well as pedestrian stops, and other officer-generated situations. During this crisis that we are currently in, officers have not been making a lot of vehicle or pedestrian stops unless absolutely necessary, so that could be playing a part as well. With that being said, that is a difference of 800 calls, which breaks down to
67 calls a day difference.” Chubb said detectives are also facing some problems investigating crimes because interviews that would normally be done with victims or witnesses face-to-face are being conducted over the phone in some instances. That is not ideal, as investigators like to try to read body language, he said.
“We are doing a lot more with our computer system rather than having direct contact with people, but we are still making things happen,” he said.
Bernhardt and Blair also commended the communities for adhering to “stay-athome” orders issued for the state by the governor over the last few weeks that require citizens to only leave the house for items like food or medical attention.
“People are complying, they’re staying in,” said Bernhardt. “Those that aren’t, when we encounter them, we remind them of social distancing and to stay at home. Unfortunately for everyone, this isn’t the norm that we’re used to following, so people just have to be reminded of it – and when they are, they’re compliant. That’s the one good thing that’s come out of this is crime for us is down and people are complying.”
“You don’t realize how hard it is to stay at home,” said Blair. “When you’re staying at home 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the same people, it can be challenging. Or if you’ve got a bunch of little kids running around, that’s tough. They’re not in school. Now you have to entertain each other, or try to, and everybody’s not gifted like that.”
But Blair said he believes most people are trying their best to respect the quarantine. His worry is that it may also be at least somewhat weather-related, though.
“We’re waiting to see what happens when the weather warms up a little bit,” he said. “That’s going to be the test.”
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer attributed the reduction in crime to not only people staying home, essentially blocking any types of crimes like burglary or disputes that arise out of gatherings, but also local police departments who are working every day during the crisis to be visible and provide security.
“I can’t say enough about local police, what they’ve been doing in this crisis,” he said. “They’re out there protecting everyone’s property and I do think because so many people are cooperating and are taking this seriously in Delaware County and are staying in their home as much as possible, that lead to (a reduction in crime).”
Stollsteimer noted that his office is still working in a limited capacity to process anyone who is arrested during the pandemic. But if those people do not pose a threat to the community, they are being arraigned by video and released on bail whenever possible, so that they can return home and limit any possible spread of the virus.
“We’re doing as many of these things as possible by video conference,” said Stollsteimer. “What’s not happening right now is we’re not having people come into the court where we have regular court sessions, where there are plea deals being worked out, or trials.”
That is at the direction of Court of Common Pleas President Judge Kevin F. Kelly, who has issued a series of orders related to a “judicial emergency” declaration. Among other things, those orders suspended civil and criminal trials for the time being, set new parameters for magisterial district judges to conduct business, postponed weekend service at the county prison in Concord and laid out reduced minimum incarceration periods for certain county inmates. “It’s absolutely a balancing act and I really applaud President Judge Kelly,” said Stollsteimer. “He got it right here in Delaware County and he has issued, from the beginning, a series of emergency orders that have kept the courts open and staffed for the things that have to be done, and particularly can be done by video conference. Everything else is pending when we get back to normal.”
Boyce said his office will meanwhile continue to monitor calls that are coming in and make sure appropriate resources are available when they are needed.
“We just want to make sure that we’re tracking key indicators because the total number of calls down doesn’t mean the stressors in some communities are not getting greater,” he said. “Just be cognizant that these stressors on people are enormous. We’re all living in a time that is unimaginable, so being kind and being patient is just as important. Recognize that with so many people now out of work and worried about their health, worried about their future, I think the need to be kind is just up there with the need to be safe.”