With Kitsap residents staying at home, public safety professionals see a drop in 911 calls

If you have been hunkering down at your house, don’t worry about missing much, things are quieter out there.

Not only are scientists theorizing that social-distancing and the drop in human activity to slow the spread of coronavirus has reduced the movement of the planet’s crust — leaving a seismic silence that usually comes only on Christmas Day — data from Kitsap’s 911 center shows overall dispatches through the first few weeks of March dropped. One of the more dramatic dips was that police officers were sent on about 20% fewer 911 calls compared with March 2019.

“Of course that makes sense,” said Richard Kirton, executive director of Kitsap 911, the nerve center for public safety in Kitsap County. He noted that motor vehicle crashes dispatched through the first 24 days of March also dropped about 20% compared to the same period in 2019. “As people are staying at home, following the governor’s directives, there are fewer cars on the road and fewer motor vehicle collisions.”

That said, officials say they are preparing for what may happen next. If the virus that causes COVID-19 explodes and local health care systems become overwhelmed, fire departments may be pulled into the gap.

And with people cooped up at home, some in volatile situations they now can’t easily escape, police say they may start receiving more calls for domestic violence incidents.

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Poulsbo Police Officer Lukas Bogues hasn’t noticed a marked increase in domestic violence incidents, but 14 years of experience in law enforcement tells him it could be likely.

“I don’t know if I am preparing for it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that increase happens as time goes on,” he said. “People go stir crazy and they lose whatever outlet they have to get rid of that stress.”

In addition to losing hobbies and pastimes, just being at home with nothing to do can lead to trouble.

“Even just going to work, some people aren’t doing that,” he said.

Kirton said first responders can appear cynical anticipating an increase in domestic violence, but he believes there is some truth to what seems like common sense.

“We are prepared for an increase in those types of calls,” Kirton said. “And thank goodness we haven’t seen a sharp increase at this point.”

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, the county's largest law enforcement agency, has seen a decrease in calls, but as March came to a close, deputies noted they were seeing a steady number of domestic and mental health-related calls.

Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the office, said it appears from the number of domestic dispute calls that "cabin fever" may be setting in, but he couldn't say the number of domestic violence incidents was going up.

"It's possible, because of the cabin-fever effect from our government-imposed togetherness, which we aren't used to," Wilson said. "And now we are being a little less tolerant of each other's weirdness."

Wilson noted deputies were called Wednesday about a report of a man who thought a family member wasn't taking seriously Gov. Jay Inslee's stay-at-home order. The deputy referred the caller to the state's website for reporting violations.

Justice system shows signs of a slowdown

The slowdown in calls for police — along with booking restrictions and limiting bail requests for non-violent offenses to keep the jail population low — is reflected in the number of people being brought into court and a steep decrease in the number of people being charged with crimes. 

On March 26, four people were arraigned in District Court, appearing over video from the jail, with just a handful of people in the courtroom. All trials have been postponed until later in the year.

“It’s different in pretty much every regard except we are still coming into court,” said Deputy Prosecutor Albert Didcock. “Normally this calendar has a lot of cases on it."

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Rather than require a study to see if a person qualifies for a public defender, all defendants now automatically get a lawyer.

“During the pandemic, we are appointing counsel for everybody,” District Court Judge Marilyn Paja told a man accused of a domestic violence assault, who was required to post bail. To a woman facing theft charges, who was released without bail, Paja told her to be sure to confirm her next hearing date in case it changes.

“We are in a state of flux here,” Paja told her.

Some positives for public safety

Dispatches for the seven Kitsap police agencies handled by Kitsap 911, including the Port Gamble and Suquamish tribal police, dropped from 13,107 during the first 26 days of March 2019 to 10,471 during the same period in 2020, a 20% decrease.

Officers still get typical calls for shoplifting or a suspicious person and respond to “in progress” calls, but Bogues said officers in his department are limiting traffic stops to safety issues — which means a person with expired tabs may get a reprieve — and officers are handling more calls over the phone and asking people to submit forms online.

“Day shift has been remarkably slower,” Bogues said. 

One way dispatchers are helping to protect first responders is asking additional questions of callers to ensure police, medics and firefighters arrive at the scene prepared to protect themselves.

“Our responders are a limited resource,” Kirton said. “If COVID-19 does surge in our area, and we see additional strains on the health care system, those resources are going to become even more precious.”

By being sent on fewer calls, Bogues said officers are able to cover more ground on patrols, driving through neighborhoods and keeping an eye out.

“With fewer calls to go to, and less paperwork to take care of, I’ve been able to get out and patrol a lot more than I have been able to lately,” he said.

Plus, with people at home, the chance of daytime burglaries drops and, by hanging around their neighborhoods, people are able to call when they see something suspicious.

“If we aren’t tied up handling a car crash we are out and more readily able to respond,” Bogues said. “There is definitely not a decrease in law enforcement on the road.”

Fire departments see less of a drop

Fire department dispatches have dropped as well, but Michele Laboda, spokeswoman for North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, said calls have been more or less at normal volume.

“It’s steady, sort of veering toward less activity,” Laboda said.

Kitsap 911 data shows a modest decrease, a little more than 8%, in dispatched calls compared to last year. March 1 through March 26 saw 2,742 calls dispatched for the six Kitsap County fire agencies that rely on Kitsap 911 with 2,516 in the same period this year.

However, the drop in calls could be offset if the area sees a spike in infections that overwhelm Kitsap County’s health care systems.

“We are gearing up for those increases, but we haven’t seen those yet,” Kirton said.

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