LOS ANGELES (CNS) - As people practice social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of crimes committed in Los Angeles has declined, Police Chief Michel Moore said today.
``I think we (the Los Angeles Police Department) are seeing a reduction in both violent and property crime (and) we're surely seeing a reduction in our call load,'' Moore told ABC7.
Moore said an increased number of officers were being mobilized to work 12-hour shifts on patrol assignments. And he described the stress that such shifts pose for officers during that type of deployment.
``The 12-hour shift for an officer really means a 15- or 16-hour day at a minimum, because (of) time to travel to the workplace (and) prepare for the work shift,'' Moore said.
``And when they work a solid 12, then they have to come back to the station dump their gear, and get ready to go home,'' Moore said.
Some officers were being provided places to sleep at a police training facility at the end of their shifts, rather than going home, Moore said.
And he vowed that his department would do everything it could to keep people safe.
``We (want) to remind the public that we're still out there, we're there for them ... if they need us to call us,'' Moore said.