All of us here at Ocean County Scanner News are still working hard to bring you the news that matters, or sometimes news to lighten the mood. Like always, we listen to police, fire, and EMS radio traffic and report what we hear to you. This results in real-time factual news that gets put out as it is happening. In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the region, the nature of calls has changed coming across the radios.

We have noticed a steep decline in Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA’s), which is obviously due to the steep decline of traffic volume on the roads. Correspondingly, we have noticed the amount of Motor Vehicle Stops (10-65’s) has declined also. Jurisdictions that normally pull cars over with a passion have let up. Again, this is due to fewer vehicles being on the road, and many cops admitted they’re not overly anxious to approach drivers unless the violation is severe. To properly conduct a Motor Vehicle Stop, the 6 foot rule is almost impossible to adhere to.

Medical calls have increased dramatically, which is not surprising. Traditional medical issues have continued among patients, with many calls describing COVID-19 symptoms. Lift assists, general weaknesses, strokes, cardiacs, and all the usual medical issues are still impacting our residents. Ocean County is now using 10-99 or Code 99 for short to warn responders about a patient possibly carrying Coronavirus. Once confirmed, residences are being flagged to keep the diagnosis on file. Overdoses appeared to be down in the beginning of the outbreak, but they have since returned to normal levels. Someone with an addiction simply cannot break their habit overnight.

Mental Health is becoming a big issue as quarantining everyone to their homes continues. We are hearing a lot of PESS Evaluations (mental screenings) for troubled people, and additional calls for suicide attempts. For many people, isolation is hard at home, especially when many of us are scared. Going along with that, domestics are up dramatically. Most agencies admit this, and the spike in domestic violence calls was predicted as families are forced home together. Many include alcohol, many are verbal only, and thankfully only a few involve weapons.

On a lighter note, nuisance calls are increasing. Possibly linked to more people being bored at home, but too many people are calling the cops for petty incidents. We are hearing a lot of suspicious activity calls, and lots of busy bodies appear to be snitching on their fellow residents. Suddenly people are calling the cops for seeing people outside, at parks, and anything else they perceive as being against the Governor’s orders. We understand we all are in this together and need to do our part, but there is a fine line between reporting a concerning condition and wasting resources. Please do not abuse 911 lines- leave them available for real emergencies.

Finally, a huge thank you to all our Police Officers, Firefighters, and EMT’s/Medics who are still working everyday, every hour to ensure our vital services are being fulfilled. Behind the scenes are the dispatchers, who are working equally as hard to handle the call volume during this. Our community thanks everyone who has been labeled a hero as we navigate these scary and unpredictable times.

That’s all for now, so STAY HOME and STAY SAFE! Do your part so we can get through this together. Be kind, respect personal spaces, and spread love- we need each other.