NoVa Police Aim To Protect Officers, Public From Coronavirus

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — Law enforcement agencies in Northern Virginia are telling the public to expect reduced levels of service as they take measures to protect officers and the public from exposure to the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. Police departments, for example, are temporarily suspending fingerprinting services and community outreach acitivities in certain jurisdictions.

These same agencies, however, emphasized that residents should immediately contact the police if they have been the victim of a crime or are witnessing a crime in progress.

On the frontlines of policing, law enforcement officials are adopting additional measures to process calls for service, protect police officers in the field, and protect arrestees and employees at detention centers and courthouses.

In Prince William County, all frontline police officers have been issued a personal infection kit that includes a half-mask respirator with P-100 (HEPA filter) cartridges, eye protection and hand protection. Police department employees also are being fit-tested on their assigned respirator and trained in infection control procedures.

The police department said it has a sufficient number of gowns, if the need arrives. The gowns provide further protection to frontline workers as long as they are properly fastened in the back and gloves are pulled up over gown sleeves.

In Prince George's County, Maryland, a dozen firefighters and emergency medical technicians in Maryland are under quarantine after authorities learned they had been inside a home in Prince George’s County occupied by a man who tested positive for the coronavirus. It is unknown whether the first responders were wearing protective gear when they entered the house.

First responders in Virginia, including polices agencies, have been ramping up efforts over the past two weeks to protect their employees and the public from the disease.

In Loudoun County, all deputies with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office are provided with special masks, gloves, eye protection and disposable gowns, according to Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman.

Chapman said members of the sheriff's office are participating in American Correctional Association coronavirus webinars to ensure the office is doing everything it can at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center in Leesburg to prevent the spread of the virus. When people are arrested and booked at the detention center, deputies are asking questions about overseas travel and are conducting checks for the coronavirus, Chapman said.

The Loudoun sheriff's office said its online citizen crime reporting system "allows residents to submit a report without leaving their home or a deputy having to respond." But the sheriff's office also reitereated that residents should only file an online report if it is not an emergency or if a crime has not just occurred or is in progress. Otherwise, the sherifff's office should be contacted by telephone as soon as possible.

Online reports can be submitted for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Middleburg Police Department and the Purcellville Police Department on the sheriff's office website.

The Loudoun sheriff's office said, based on Centers for Disease Control and Protection guidance for law enforcement, deputies may keep a distance of six feet when possible during contact with residents. Members of the public should not be offended if sheriff's deputies don’t shake hands, the office said.

Fingerprinting services at Loudoun County's four sheriff's office stations are being temporarily suspended. Residents who need fingerprinting services for employment and other requirements must visit the Loudoun sheriff's office headquarters in Leesburg. Staff have been instructed to use protective gear when performing these fingerprinting services.

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The Loudoun sheriff's office also is temporarily suspending community outreach events, with the exception of its citizen’s police academy.

“I speak for all of us when I say that despite these measures, we are committed to providing you the same level of service you have come to expect in Loudoun,” Chapman said Thursday afternoon at a press briefing that included the sheriff's office and town police agencies from across the county.

At the Loudoun Adult Detention Center, the sheriff's office is temporarily postponing all volunteer programs in the facility to protect staff and inmates at the facility. Inmates will still be able to meet with their attorneys in non-contact visitation booths, the sheriff's office said.

Additional measure being taken at the Loudoun jail include:

• Cancellation of onsite video visitation. The detention center is still allowing tablet video visitation for friends and loved ones. All inmates have access to these tablets.
• Cancellation of all tours of the facility.
• Coordination with medical staff in the facility to ensure only critical medical appointments outside of the facility will be conducted.
• Communication with medical staff to increase the observation and assessment of all incoming inmates entering the facility.

For emergency calls, if the county's Public Safety Communications Center screens a call that includes COVID-19 symptoms, the information is relayed to responding police officers so they can take appropriate actions to protect themselves, the county said.

The county also is limiting the number of personnel that make initial contact with a member of the public to limit potential exposure. For example, additional responders will wait outside if additional help is needed. When people are arrested and booked at the detention center, deputies are asking questions about overseas travel and are conducting checks for the coronavirus, Chapman said.

In the town of Leesburg, the police department is making temporary changes in officer responses to calls for service, including:

• Leesburg Police Department officers have been directed to use social distancing to avoid unnecessary physical contact with non-arrestees. This may include not shaking hands with members of the public and/or remaining at a distance of six feet when possible.
• Officers may be wearing personal protective equipment, including rubber gloves and/or facemasks if physical contact is deemed necessary.
• Officers have been directed to routinely wash their hands with soap and water, or if in the field to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Officers have been issued sanitizing spray and wipes for their cruisers, equipment, and gear.
• The police department has increased cleaning and sanitizing of commonly touched surfaces in our station.

Leesburg Police Department Chief Gregory Brown said Thursday that these temporary changes may affect the department's level of service but that the department believes they are necessary to protect its officers and the community. "We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners during this time to ensure that public safety remains our No. 1 priority," Brown said.

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