Crime & Safety
City Of University Place - Chief’s Corner
As always, I encourage you to reach out if you have questions or concerns.
June 7, 2020
We knew it wouldn’t last forever…
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The downward trend in calls for service we experienced during the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak has started to tick upward toward normal levels. Although the majority of our calls involved property crimes, specifically vehicle prowls, we have also had many residents report that they were victims of unemployment fraud.
But our officers have also made some key arrests, including:
Find out what's happening in University Placefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- A traffic stop of a suspicious vehicle with a driver armed with a stolen handgun, outstanding warrants for his arrest, and drugs in his possession. He was booked into jail.
- A burglary in progress where two armed subjects, acquaintances of the resident, forced their way into the victim’s house demanding money. The K9 unit located one suspect who was booked into jail and the other suspect has been identified.
- An elderly male was arrested for indecent exposure after the victim shared the license plate of the suspect. This individual was not booked into jail due to COVID-19 booking restrictions.
The last bullet point brings up one of the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis: how do we manage our jail and prison populations? Jails are used to house persons who have committed misdemeanor offenses and those awaiting trial (for felonies or misdemeanors). Because of manpower limitations as well as the fact that our courts are hearing limited caseloads, we are arresting people, but some of these individuals will receive a summons versus being booked and processed immediately. As law enforcement professionals, this is as frustrating to us as it is to you, but it reflects the realities we are now operating under for the time being.
As always, I encourage you to reach out if you have questions or concerns. You can reach me via email or by calling 253.798.4058. I welcome the opportunity to work with you to prevent crime in U.P.
This press release was produced by the City of University Place. The views expressed here are the author’s own.