Crime rates decrease in Mid-Michigan with one exception

One of the side effects of the stay at home order is a decrease in crime with one unfortunate exception.

"March compared to February, looks like our breaking and enterings are down a little bit and retail frauds are down a little bit," said Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich.

In Jackson, police had 300 fewer calls in March than in January. Despite the decrease in calls, some departments are seeing an increase in one area.

"Overall, when it comes to violent crime, we've kind of noticed a decrease in violent crime overall; however our domestic assaults and violence relating to couples, we've seen a little bit of a surge," said Lansing Police Chief Daryl Green.

Sheriff Reich says Eaton County has also seen an increase in domestic violence.

His department, like many others, is changing the way they dispatch deputies.

"When we respond to calls, we try to take the complaint outside the house, but on some occasions, if it's domestic violence we have to go into the house to investigate," said Sheriff Reich.

Meridian Township and Lansing Police have limited the types of calls they're responding to in order to avoid face-to-face interaction, but Chief Green has a message to criminals who think they'll be overlooked.

"Bad actors should not be under the illusion that they have a free pass during this very difficult time. We continue to investigate, issue citations, make arrests appropriately, and our elderly, our children, and our victims of domestic and sexual violence remain a high priority for us," said Chief Green.

Sheriff Reich also mentioned there have been fewer car crashes because there aren't as many drivers on the road.