Last week, Big Lake City Administrator Clay Wilfahrt and Police Chief Joel Scharf hosted a Facebook Live event in which they discussed the pandemic’s impact on policing. Wilfahrt will be running a series of interviews with city officials as a means to reach out and connect with the community, since normal city events are not able to take place at this time.

Initial Response to the Pandemic

When the schools shut down, the police department started making real changes. Low priority calls were handled differently, many being resolved over the phone when possible. Critical calls still received the same response as usual. Chief Scharf said he wanted his department to be a calming presence in the community as everyone became increasingly nervous about the situation. 

The department continued to make sure officers’ days off were honored, to make sure they had much-needed space from the job. 

“The part that was unique is that a lot of [the officers] looked forward to coming back to work,” said Chief Scharf, “because it was the only normal they really saw in their world as things evolved quickly.”

Enforcing the Executive Orders

“There is no playbook for a peacetime emergency,” said Chief Scharf. 

The police departments are given the executive orders, and are made to figure out how to enforce those orders within their communities. There is no perfect solution as to how to enforce executive orders when citizens may or may not be inclined to follow those orders. The executive orders themselves often include insight into how to encourage voluntary compliance through education. Chief Scharf also stated that the department was constantly trying to keep in mind what was constitutional and find a middle ground.

Officer and Community Safety

The department had asked officers to socially distance themselves when possible, and to wash their hands regularly and remain hygienic. Unfortunately, masks are tricky since officers rely heavily on facial expressions when communicating with residents, whether to see expressions on peoples’ faces, or by smiling and making people feel safe. 

As schools, workplaces and other places are shut down, there is more stress at home. The number of people resisting arrest has increased significantly. 

Meanwhile, domestic crimes are down 33%. Chief Scharf believes these crimes are still being committed, but since a lot of those cases are discovered through kids attending school, it isn’t being reported. Criminal sexual conduct complaints are also down, for the same reasons. 

Substance Abuse

The pandemic also poses a danger for those who are recovering from addiction. Wilfahrt noted that Nystrom & Associates will be building an in-patient treatment facility soon to help people battling addiction. Chief Scharf said the most important thing for patients overcoming addiction is to be connected to their community, and be in a place where they can receive help. He told the story of one man who was released from prison due to the COVID-19 situation. Within two days, the man overdosed and died. Chief Scharf also spoke about his wife, who overcame her addiction 22 years ago. Chief Scharf said that she didn’t believe she would have been able to overcome her addiction had she been trying to do so in the middle of this pandemic. Treatment facilities run by the state are currently filled to capacity.

Scharf urged listeners to “look up and down the block” and reach out to neighbors who need help.

Questions from the Community

Wilfahrt and Scharf also fielded several questions from the audience. The entire hour-long interview is available at Facebook.com/BigLakeMN