TOPLINEPolice departments nationwide are encouraging people to stop making 911 calls to report social distancing violations, saying the calls are choking emergency lines during the Covid-19 pandemic and that people should report noncompliance to public health agencies, not law enforcement. A police officer giving a ticket during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brooklyn, New York City last week. Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesKEY FACTSPolice in Ohio, Michigan and San Antonio have asked residents to call non-emergency lines if they wish to report social distancing noncompliance. But in Chicago, callers reporting social distancing noncompliance to 311 are forwarded to 911, because it is considered a life-threatening situation, according to The Chicago Tribune. Calling 911 to report social distancing violations would flood emergency lines, overwhelm already-limited agency resources, unnecessarily introduce more people into the problem at hand and place police in “an untenable situation,” Burch said.

Source: Forbes May 23, 2020 14:26 UTC