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Several municipal police chiefs reported their departments have seen a significant decrease in criminal activity within the last week, but a few agencies have experienced a slight surge in activated security alarms.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re adjusting like most departments, we stopped public access to our building and taking nonemergency calls by phone,&rdquo; Hanover Township Police Chief Al Walker said. &ldquo;We are a community service organization and not having that direct interaction with the public is not the best scenario, but we need to protect our officers.&rdquo;
				Walker and other police chiefs have beefed up patrols despite people adhering to staying inside and off the road.
				&ldquo;I have seen a lot less people and traffic on the streets, but I beefed up the shifts and patrols because I don&rsquo;t want anything to happen to our residents and businesses,&rdquo; Kingston Police Chief Rich Kotchik said.
				Dallas Township Police Chief Doug Higgins also increased patrols in his jurisdiction by using two officers normally assigned as resource officers for the closed Dallas School District.
				&ldquo;We took a ride yesterday and all the nonessential businesses that were to close are closed,&rdquo; Higgins said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want the criminal mind to think since businesses are closed, it&rsquo;s the right time to break in. Right now we have four guys on and they&rsquo;re out to be seen to avoid that criminal mindset.&rdquo;
				Kotchik and Higgins said their departments have seen a slight increase in security alarms being activated since the community have taken precautionary steps. Higgins said his department have responded to more home burglar alarms in recent days mostly due to families being home more often than usual and forgetting to deactivate the security system.
				&ldquo;We respond and do a walk around to make sure everything is okay but we won&rsquo;t go in,&rdquo; Higgins said.
				Wilkes-Barre City Police Chief Joseph Coffay said his department has seen a decrease in call volume, adding that burglar alarms have been normal.
				&ldquo;Most people are adhering to the guidelines but as always some have not,&rdquo; Coffay added.
				&ldquo;We still have domestic situations and other criminal activity, but have been responding as usual keeping in mind the (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) precautions that have been instituted,&rdquo; he said.
				Wilkes-Barre Township Police Chief Will Clark said his department has seen a significant decrease in traffic as non-essential businesses in the heavy commercial shopping district of the township have closed under a state directive.
				&ldquo;Obviously with the correlation of the businesses that are closed, people are not coming to the township to shop as they normally would do. We still bear the responsibility to provide services to our residents and businesses. Despite businesses being closed and seeing a decrease in criminal activity, our officers have not decreased their presence,&rdquo; Clark said.
				Wright Township Police Chief Royce Engler said his department has maintained normal shifts but made adjustments how officers interact with the public.
				Engler said his officers, while at a call for service, have been asking if they were recently out of the country.
				&ldquo;We are patrolling as usual and having less contact with individuals, taking all necessary precautions,&rdquo; Engler said.
				The police chiefs said while officers normally are stocked with gloves, they have also been given masks and hand sanitizer.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re practicing social distancing, maybe standing five, six feet away when interviewing someone. We&rsquo;ll always ask the person to come outside to speak if the service is at a residence,&rdquo; Walker said. &ldquo;Officers have also been provided personal protection devices in their cruisers and they are encouraged to use whatever they feel necessary.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;They do have masks, gloves and hand sanitizer,&rdquo; Kotchik said. &ldquo;Masks and gloves are always in the cruisers, we go through gloves like crazy.&rdquo;
				Higgins said his officers sterilize and clean cruisers at the end of their shifts.

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