Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith on Wednesday said the temperatures of employees are being checked each day as they arrive for work, and the Oak Ridge Police Department is still enforcing laws.
When possible, police reports are being taken by phone to avoid personal contact, Smith said. It’s part of the police department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oak Ridge Police Department is “on the job to deter crime and enhance the safety of our citizens,” Smith said in a social media post.
“During this time of social distancing, we are looking for ways to reduce personal contact with others while continuing to perform our jobs effectively,” Smith said. “Let me tell you what we are not doing. We are not decreasing our enforcement efforts.”
The police department has been using a data-driven approach to deterring crime, and that has significantly reduced crime rates, Smith said.
“If we rein back our efforts, we risk allowing crime to increase,” the police chief said. “We feel that an escalation in crime would increase the risk of contamination for citizens and officers.”
If you have an emergency, call 911. If you need to file a police report, call (865) 425-4399. A public safety dispatcher will forward your contact information to a police officer, who will call you back, Smith said.
The police chief reminded residents to wash their hands regularly, which is one of the recommendations to help reduce the spread of the virus.
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