DALTON, Ga. — Maybe fear of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) is keeping criminals indoors. Maybe it’s the “discretion” some local law enforcement agencies have given officers to make arrests or not for minor, nonviolent crimes. Maybe it’s a combination of the two.

But arrests in Whitfield and Murray counties have been down for the last couple of weeks.

The Daily Citizen-News reports those booked into the Whitfield County and Murray County jails for felony offenses, drug crimes whether felony or misdemeanor, DUIs and sexual offender violations and also those who are held at the jails for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or charged as fugitives from justice.

Today’s report lists just two people booked into the local jails on such charges. By way of contrast, the March 7 report from this year had 10 people and the Feb. 7 report also had 10 people.

Some jurisdictions have explicitly told officers not to make arrests for some crimes in order to keep people out of jails and reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Local law enforcement agencies say they haven’t done that but they have asked officers to use discretion.

“I have spoken with our officers and asked them to use discretion on nonviolent offenses and non-felonies,” said Murray County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jimmy Davenport.

Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said his department has also advised deputies to use discretion and issue citations rather than make arrests for minor crimes.

“They are still making arrests for felonies and violent crimes,” Chitwood said.

Still, those policies don’t explain why arrests for felonies seem to be down, too.

Dalton Police Chief Cliff Cason suggests that the social distancing policies enacted at the state and local levels may have had an impact on crime.

“Our staff is still performing patrol and investigative functions while taking necessary safety measures,” said Cason. “It is important to note that we have seen a reduction in the number of calls for service over the past few weeks. That combined with less vehicle and pedestrian traffic due to business closures has resulted in fewer citizen contacts. That results in fewer arrests being made for warrants and other violations. I anticipate this trend will continue until the pandemic passes.”

The Whitfield County courthouse has been closed to the public except for court functions since March 18. Under an order from Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice Harold D. Melton declaring a statewide judicial emergency that has now been extended until May 13, local courts are only holding bond hearings, processing bench warrants and holding probation hearings for jail cases and processing temporary restraining order requests.

District Attorney Bert Poston, whose office handles cases in both Whitfield and Murray counties, said that has had an impact on his office.

“With the courthouse closed, most of my staff are working from home at any given time,” he said. “Those who are here at the office are working exclusively on jail cases because those are the only cases that we’re dealing with on the Tuesday/Friday non-jury calendars (or Wednesday in Chatsworth). While we always prioritize jail cases, it’s not the same as working on those exclusively. So I think we’re probably seeing more movement on jail cases overall, both in terms of bonds being set and pleas getting worked out, etc.”

Poston was asked if his office is recommending more people facing charges be released on their own recognizance.

“We are taking the current circumstances into consideration when we make recommendations for bond or for plea offers, but I don’t think our criteria has really changed that much,” he said. “I think it’s probably more a matter of focus than anything else.”

The number of inmates at the Whitfield County jail seems to be down slightly as a result of all the changes. On March 24, the jail population was 411. By comparison, it was 478 on March 24, 2019, and 490 on Feb. 24 of this year.

In Murray County, the trend is less clear. On March 24, the jail population there was 142, down from 166 on March 24 of last year  but up from 141 on Feb. 24 of this year.