Redding Police and Fire Departments have made special arrangements for dealing with coronavirus concerns. The RPD has split their personnel into separate squads to be sure that if one officer contracts the virus, it won’t take down the entire department. Each squad is working 2 weeks at a time, which is the incubation period of Covid-19. Also, officers are driving patrol vehicles home and using each vehicle exclusively for each two week period. When someone is transported to jail, they are given a mask for the ride.
Redding’s crime rate is way down. Over the past two weeks, calls for service are down 25% compared to the average over the same period in the past two years. There have been 58 burglaries in the past two weeks, compared to 82 last year, and very few of those are residential burglaries because most homes are occupied all the time now.
The Redding Fire Department has also made some policy adjustments. When responding to medical calls, crews are trying to limit exposure by initially sending in just one suited-up person. Also, dispatchers are asking patients who are able to go outside to meet medical personnel on arrival. The department has purchased three mobile ultraviolet light units to kill the virus on the surfaces of medical equipment, the insides of fire engines, and inside stations.
To show symbolic support for frontline and essential workers the city has joined a nationwide “Light It Blue” campaign by illuminating the Sundial Bridge in blue lights until further notice.