Over the past several weeks, we have noticed a small spike in the number of drug related arrest in Manitowoc. We reached out to the Manitowoc Chief of Police, Nick Reimer about this trend, and asked if it was related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that with significantly fewer drivers on the road due to the Safer at Home order, less call volume, and not having any staffing issues, “The Manitowoc Police Department can dedicate more resources to suspected drug houses and drug enforcement. So if there is a spike in drug arrests, it is only related to the Pandemic indirectly.”
Chief Reimer does not believe the community is engaging in more drug activity, but the increase in arrests is due to “increased enforcement as a result of the pandemic situation lessening other demands on law enforcement.”
He specifically noted that the number of vehicle accidents dropped from 95 in March of 2019, down to only 46 during the same time this year.
