DALTON, Ga. — The Dalton Police Department has seen a dip in several types of crimes, as well as traffic accidents, during the past couple of months as the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to individuals spending more time at home.

Cliff Cason, Dalton’s police chief, explained during Tuesday’s meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission that crimes such as aggravated assault, burglary, homicide, rape and robbery were down 21% in April from April 2019, with crimes such as battery/assault, disorderly conduct and forgery/fraud down 29% this April compared to last April. 

There were six motor vehicle thefts in April, double the number from April 2019, Cason said. “I don’t know why that spiked, but it is something we’re going to keep an eye on.” 

Property crimes are down 25% year to date, but “a lot of that is because retail has been down” during the pandemic, he said. “It will probably tick up (as) retail gets back open.” 

There have been 32 violent crimes this year, 10 more than last year, he said. The department is focused on addressing those crimes, as “they are a concern to us.” 

Code enforcement cases also increased, from 74 in March to 110 in April, because while so many individuals are spending the majority of their time at home, “everyone is doing a project,” and some of those individuals fail to follow guidelines for refuse disposal, he said. However, “we do get pretty good compliance from most of these folks.” 

Most simply are unaware of proper procedures, he said. Once informed, they rectify their mistakes in “99%” of instances. 

While Cason expected call volume to decrease during the pandemic, calls instead increased, from roughly 3,400 last April to nearly 3,900 this April, particularly in areas such as noise and disturbance complaints, as well as domestic violence and disturbances, he said. However, it wasn’t anything “so unusual we weren’t prepared to handle it.” 

Through April, traffic crashes were down 22% compared to the same four months last year, “because the number of people on the roadways was down” because of the pandemic, he said. “It will start creeping up now that businesses are open.” 

After 126 crashes in April 2019, there were only 59 this April, he said. That’s “directly tied to traffic flows” decreasing during the pandemic. 

In April, Walnut Avenue led in crashes, with 11, or 19% of the month’s crashes, according to the Dalton Police Department. Chattanooga Road had the most injuries with crashes, with nine injuries, or 15% of the month’s reported injuries.

The Dalton Police Department implemented hazard pay, a $2 per hour raise, for “all sworn positions, all of those on the front lines,” beginning in early April due to COVID-19, but the department has adequate funds because of other expenses, like traveling for training, that the department isn’t incurring during the pandemic, Cason said. “I’m very confident we’ll be able to work with the funding we have to meet the needs of the city.” 

Hazard pay will continue as long as Georgia remains in a state of emergency due to COVID-19, Cason said. The current state of emergency is set to expire June 12, but could be extended by Gov. Brian Kemp. 

“I think the hazard pay is well deserved,” said Commissioner Luis Viamonte. These employees have exposed not only themselves, but also their families, to the coronavirus in the course of their duties, which is “a very tough situation.”

And they often perform critical medical functions, from administering CPR to providing Narcan, which can treat narcotic overdoses, Viamonte said. Even with his decades in medicine as a pediatrician, Viamonte wasn’t aware until recently the amount of medical aid these individuals provide. 

In fact, he hopes to join police officers and firefighters for a shift soon to see how they work daily, he said. “Our wish is they have the training and equipment to feel safe” in their jobs. 

Bill Weaver, chairman of the commission, echoed those sentiments, noting that “we certainly do appreciate what they do on a day-to-day basis.” 

No Dalton police officers have tested positive for coronavirus, and none are currently awaiting test results, Cason said. In addition, “we have PPE (personal protective equipment) issued to us,” and “the station is marked off for social distancing.” 

February’s cases and crimes “tracked along normally for the most part,” as the coronavirus impact wasn’t felt until the following month, and there were “no major areas of concern,” Cason said. “February was the last normal month we had in 2020.” 

That month provided “crash volume we were used to,” he said. Walnut Avenue and Glenwood Avenue were the locations with the most wrecks. 

February’s financials were also “on track with normal expenditures,” he said. “We’re on budget.” 

March began the reduction in crashes due to fewer vehicles on roads because of the coronavirus shutdowns, and “that trend continued until about a week ago when normal operations (restarted) in most places around the city,” Cason said. March was “really slow” in terms of crashes, as was April, so “we had two months of really, really low crash data.”