Turlock calls for police, firefighter service decline during coronavirus crisis
Calls to Turlock’s police and fire departments have dropped 20% during coronavirus stay-at-home orders, reports show.
The closure of non-essential businesses and police prioritizing staff duties contributed to the dip, said Turlock Police Chief Nino Amirfar. However, some crimes, such as disturbances and domestic violence, have increased slightly.
“There are less people out and less opportunity for criminals to victimize individuals,” Amirfar said in an email to The Bee. “The result is a lower volume of calls for service. However, there are still opportunities to burglarize businesses and vehicles and we have seen a slight uptick in those areas.”
Turlock police received 3,244 calls last month, down from 4,044 in March 2019, according to a report submitted to the City Council on Tuesday. The fire department likewise reported a 20% drop in 911 calls, primarily for fire alarms and public assistance, compared to earlier this year. But unlike police, firefighters are also responding to an average of five emergency calls related to COVID-19 per day.
The calls typically involve checking on people experiencing symptoms, said Turlock Fire Capt. Kevin Tidwell, such as difficulty breathing, fever and coughing. On-duty firefighters, who are all trained as emergency medical technicians, try to get as much information as possible from dispatchers before visiting residences. The Turlock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is one of the places where firefighters have responded to COVID-19 calls, Interim Chief Gary Calrson said at the council meeting.
“We talk to them from six feet away and try to figure out what’s going on so that if that patient does have these symptoms, then we’re making sure we’re wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment and that we can put a mask on them,” Tidwell told The Bee. “We’re taking those protocols to not only keep ourselves safe, but also keep the patients safe.”
An AMR ambulance usually arrives on scene after the firetruck and takes the patient to the hospital upon request, he said. Firefighters help transfer the patient in those cases, just as they do for other medical calls, which Tidwell said are coming in at normal levels. Even with the coronavirus protocols, he said the Turlock Fire Department is prepared to respond to fires and other emergencies.
While police do not respond to medical calls, Amirfar said the department is responding to an average of six calls per week related to the coronavirus, considering burglaries and disturbances are happening at businesses that are usually open. Overall, the pandemic has curtailed outreach programs, Amirfar said, and limited proactive enforcement, forcing officers to concentrate on severe violations such as DUIs.
“We are only able to provide basic life safety services in the face of this state of emergency,” Amirfar said in an email. “We have split the remainder of our detectives into an A and B squad so as to hold half in reserve if patrol needs help if they suffer any other losses, whether COVID-19 or injuries. We hope and pray that our staff stays healthy as we do not have the sufficient numbers to fill in if illnesses hit.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 10:23 AM.
