On March 16, 2020, Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb released a video informing the public about changes to the Police Department’s policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, Champaign Police will not be taking any walk-in reports and officers will not be responding in-person to reports of crimes unless the crime represents an ongoing emergency.
This decision comes in contrast to the new policies set in place by the City of Urbana. Urbana will keep their City Building open to the public (limiting access to just one entrance) and their service windows for police, finance, and city clerk, will remain open and accessible for the time being. Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin said all efforts will be taken to prevent possible transmission of COVID-19, and noted that the existing service windows already place city employees behind a wall of protective glass. Marlin said arrangements were already underway to provide a similar barrier for their community services department.
Champaign Police Department staff also operate behind a full barrier of protective glass, with only a small obfuscate opening large enough for sliding papers through, but Chief Cobb still decided to close access. In his video, Cobb notes that reports can be taken over the phone or internet. Cobb did not indicate if the Police Department’s strict time constraints for filing police complaints would be extended as a result of the emergency measures, nor did he indicate how citizens could receive any of the informational materials in the police department lobby. It remains unclear how citizens are supposed to pick up Freedom of Information Act documents, which are usually supplied at the service window within the lobby.
When questioned about what could be done for citizens who may not have phone or internet access (such as the poor, homeless, or someone who has just had their phone stolen), Cobb did not give a meaningful response.
UPDATE: On March 18th, less than two days after announcing that the Champaign Police Department will only take reports by phone, the City of Champaign lost its phone service:
