Portland police reduce in-person responses amid coronavirus outbreak

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Police Bureau is clamping down on the number of calls they respond to in person due to COVID-19.

KGW reports the new policy was implemented to reduce officers’ exposure to the novel coronavirus in order to avoid a large number of officers from getting sick. Police said they need to make sure there are enough officers to respond to serious and life-threatening emergencies.

Sgt. Kevin Allen said police will still be dispatched to incidents like sexual assault, armed robbers, violence, burglaries, and more. It’s the lower-level crimes like car thefts and car break-ins they’re trying to avoid.