GREEN BAY, Wis — (NBC 26) -- As the statewide "safer at home" order continues, many police departments are starting to see an overall drop in crime. But on the other hand, departments are also experiencing some unanticipated impacts that have many officers doing their jobs in different ways.
Just two months ago enforcing traffic violations like speeding, was a top priority for Green Bay police officers.
"Just a couple of months ago our biggest priority was speeding because that was what everyone was complaining about. But obviously, in the past two months, the whole world has changed and the whole policing world in Green Bay has changed," says Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith.
Smith has recently altered his department's priorities in light of COVID 19's continued spread. And at the top of his list of priorities today, is keeping officers healthy so they can respond when needed.
"We don't have people calling in sick or taking excessive time off. But what we do have is officers out there every day making sure that Green Bay is safe, making sure that our streets are safe and making sure that these 911 calls get answered," says Smith.
As of Tuesday, Smith says his department has seen a 20 percent decrease in 911 service calls. He adds that overall crime has been following a very similar trend.
"Our crime rate is also down pretty nicely in just about all categories," says Smith.
But while calls for services may be down, officers that are being called for assistance today, are not taking any unnecessary chances. That means many situations are being taken care of strictly over the phone if they can be.
"So we have officers out there, they're still there and answering the bill when the time comes to work... obviously in an emergency situation our officers are going to go in there and take care of business as we expect them to. But, if there is time, we ask our officers to bring people outside to have those conversations at a safe distance," says Smith.
