Some Sacramento crime numbers down during coronavirus stay-at-home orders, police say

Crime is down in Sacramento and calls for service are way down.

According to new data released Thursday by the Sacramento Police Department, calls for service are down an average of 17 percent since Sacramento County announced a state of emergency due to the coronavirus March 5. Officer-initiated calls are down nearly 25 percent.

Some crimes are also showing signs of dropping, with violent crimes such as robbery and sexual assault trending down as a result of the shelter-at-home order, according to data.

However, other crimes, such as burglary and domestic disturbances, are seeing a slight increase as businesses remain empty and people are staying home.

Police numbers show burglaries increased slightly since the first week of March, when 85 incidents were reported, to 95 incidents over a week ending April 5.

“We believe that it’s an uptick in business burglaries, and because of that we’ve amended our ringing alarm procedure for businesses and making sure they get dispatched quickly,” said Officer Karl Chan, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.

Domestic disturbances also increased during the weeks of quarantine, with 259 incidents reported in the first week of March and rising to 287 by the first week of April.

Sacramento’s data is reflective of a larger national trend with dramatically fewer arrests and calls for service as people stay home and off the roads.

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:21 PM.