Auburn police chief addresses patrols during shelter-in-place order

Governor Gavin Newsom's state order to shelter in place last week created uncharted territory for residents of Auburn. Since the community has never been on a shelter-in-place order before, the Auburn Journal thought it would be an appropriate time to check in with Police Chief Ryan Kinnan to see how the Auburn Police Department is responding to the order. Kinnan's response to our questions: Have you increased your patrols in response to the state's shelter-in-place order? Obviously, the current state of affairs is new to us and law enforcement throughout the country. As it relates to the increase of patrols, we are focusing our efforts on the business districts and residential neighborhoods with an emphasis on being seen by our community. We know that much of our day-to-day work is not seen by the community so we are sharing as much as possible via our various social media platforms. It is times such as this that people are looking to community leaders to provide calmness during the chaos. As community leaders, the men and women of the Auburn Police Department have stepped up to provide that calm to our community members. I am extremely proud of the efforts of the men and women of the Auburn Police Department, as they provide a high level of service to our community. Are there additional police on the street? We have not increased our patrol staffing. We are already a lean agency in regards to staffing. We have changed our Community Action Team model to be more community engaged and increase the community outreach as opposed to focusing mainly on the homelessness issues within the city. This being said, we will continue to proactively monitor our community's homeless/transient concerns. Are you getting an increase in 911 calls? Not as of yet. Are you seeing a rise in any type of crime? DUIs? Thefts? We have not yet seen a significant rise in any crime types. We are trying to focus our efforts on being seen in as many parts of the community as possible. The more we are seen in and around the different parts of our community, the more of a crime deterrent we will be. We know that the grocery stores are an area that requires constant attention. There are people who continue to be scared and nervous about our current situation, and this leads to criminals finding opportunities to victimize people. We are making regular visits to these locations. Advice for the community on how to stay safe? In these unprecedented times, we need to come together as a community. We will get through this together by looking out for one another. Check on your neighbors, co-workers, friends and family members. With the current state of unknowns and the future unknowns, many people are worried. Unfortunately, with this current situation we have already seen a number of scams being reported on and criminals looking for ways to take advantage of the circumstances of others. Please do not fall for a scam; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If someone is offering you a service or selling you something related to the COVID-19, confirm that it is legitimate before you do anything. Remember, we are here for our community. Please continue to report suspicious activity in and around your neighborhoods. You continue to be the "eyes and ears" of the Auburn Police Department. Keeping our community safe is a responsibility we all have and you are a key partner. Anything else you wanted to add? There is so much information out there on social media and the internet. It is not all true, and some of the false information creates more panic. Please check your concerns against reputable websites, such as CDC.org and Placer County Department of Health. We are looking to the professional media outlets to be responsible reporters of the COVID-19 situation. Accurate information presented timely will allow us to better serve our community.