A Salem Police Department patrol car. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
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When Sgt. Jim Welsh shows up to his 6 a.m. shift at the Salem Police Department, he skips the morning briefing, gets his temperature checked and heads straight to his patrol car.
Police squads have bypassed their morning meetings to adhere to social distancing guidelines and instead started putting out an online bulletin with information that officers on duty need to know.
When Welsh hit the road on Tuesday, he communicated with his team using cell phone, radio and the computer system.
GPS allows him to know where other officers are at any given moment.
“We always have a constant line of communication going amongst ourselves,” he said. “I get to see them quite a bit through the shift.”
Welsh said shifts patrolling north Salem haven’t changed much since COVID-19 has impacted nearly every facet of daily life, leaving people out of work as businesses close and limiting the number of places people can go, from barber shops to the beach.
Overall, major crimes in Salem were down in March compared to the same time last year, according to Salem Police Department data.
Last month there were 76 assaults, down from 145 in March 2019. There were 39 aggravated assaults last month compared to 61 at the same time last year.
Lt. Treven Upkes said the lower numbers could be a result of bars being closed and less opportunities for alcohol to stir up fights.
Shoplifting numbers have stayed relatively steady with 113 last month compared to 123 in March last year.
On Tuesday, Sparky’s Brewing Company gave out free meals to officers who drove up to the south Salem brewery.
Welsh skipped the sack lunch, and instead met up with another sergeant and they went “car to car,” eating their sandwiches with the windows rolled down beside each other.
Normally, cops go “car to car” on graveyard shifts when nothing is open, but now the nighttime practice has spilled into the day as normal meeting places are shuttered.
“We do meet like that to talk about different things and go over stuff if we have questions on reports,” he said. “In the past, before this, we would meet for coffee here and there.”
The Salem agency is limiting the amount of contact officers have with the public. Officers are opting to handle more incidents by phone when possible.
Welsh said if there’s no suspect information or evidence to be gathered, like someone reporting a car accident to document it for insurance, that can be handled by phone.
“We have done that in the past but not to this level,” he said. “Unless it’s a crime in progress we’re probably not going to send an officer in person.”
Welsh said most of 911 calls police are responding to are similar to what they normally deal with, like trespassing and theft.
However, he said there’s been an uptick in family disturbances and other domestic crimes.
In normal times, Welsh would finish shift at the police station, seeing six to eight officers on computers finishing up their paperwork.
Now, that’s gotten the kibosh and officers are expected to finish their work in the field and drop the paperwork off when they’re done.
Sgt. Jeff Wiedemann, a member of Salem Police Department’s Behavioral Health Unit, has been busier over the last three weeks responding to calls about emotionally disturbed people.
On Monday, Weidemann went to a group home where a woman was in crisis.
He asked her to come outside to limit his time indoors and had a mask and gloves on before they spoke.
In an unmarked car, he drove her to the psychiatric crisis center with the windows rolled down, fielding glances from onlookers as he wore his mask while driving.
The following day, he left his wife and two teenage daughters at home and drove on downtown streets that were eerily empty as he made his way to work.
When he got to the agency, a colleague checked his temperature, using a forehead thermometer before he walked out to his work vehicle and logged on.
He had at least four incidents waiting for him to handle when he went on duty.
He said he and his partner, who respond to crisis calls around Marion County, are responding to more of the kinds of calls they have typically been assigned to handle.
Dispatchers are trying to triage calls as they can, limiting officer’s exposure when they don’t need to be on scene.
Upkes said patrol officers are easing traffic enforcement, focusing on drivers who are on running red lights or speeding in another effort to limit their contact with the public.
“We’re part of the community too, trying to ease back on contacts to keep people safe,” Upkes said.
He said it’s harder to take people to the hospital and officers have to get more clearances to take people to jail.
Last week, two deputies at the Marion County Jail tested positive for COVID-19.
This week, Salem police officers are getting N-100 masks and safety eyewear. The FBI gave the agency surplus Tyvek suits.
Upkes said cops follow procedures when policing and when they’re changing procedures on the fly it can be difficult to adjust.
“It’s been quite a whirlwind,” he said.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected] or @daisysaphara.
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