Coronavirus Pandemic Changes Policing, Including Fewer Arrests

The WSJ has this article with the above headline, subhead As crime falls, police focus on keeping social order, enforcing social distancing:

Law and order is changing across America during the novel coronavirus pandemic, as police pull back on arrests for small-time crimes and instead focus on breaking up gatherings that pose health risks, all the while coping with the perils of a job that can’t be done with social distancing.
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So far, crime has fallen on the empty streets of most big U.S. cities., including San Francisco, the first major city to order residents to stay at home. Serious crimes in New York City were down last week compared with the same previous week a year ago, except for a 50% increase in car thefts. In Chicago, both violent and property crime are slightly below normal levels. In Dallas, violent and property crimes fell last week compared with the previous week.

Zusha Elinson and Ben Chapman reported the story.