July Police Report Confirms Nearly Double Spike In Domestic Assaults

OCEAN CITY – While the total number of service calls decreased in the month of July, a report on police activity highlighted an increase in calls related to disorderly conduct, domestic incidents, and theft, among other things.

On Monday, Ocean City Police Chief Ross Buzzuro presented the Ocean City Police Commission with an update on police activity for the month of July.

Last month, officer calls for service decreased 30% – from 7,204 calls in July 2019 to 5,046 calls in July 2020 – and citizen calls for service increased 12.6%. In the top 25 calls for service, the department reported 1,075 911 hang ups, 857 calls to assist citizens and 1,320 calls for city ordinance violations.

“When we delve in a little deeper into the top 25 calls for service, the No. 1 call for service was city ordinance violation. Last year we were just under 3,000. This year there were 1,320, which is a decrease of 1,659,” Buzzuro said. “Probably the best reason for this is just the prioritization in activity. Officers have been busy spending time dealing with offenses going on with other incidents, prioritizing their enforcement efforts but not necessarily in terms of city ordinance violations.”

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