Alle-Kiski Valley police begin responding to some calls by phone

Some police departments in the Alle-Kiski Valley will be responding to some nonemergency calls over the phone.

New Kensington officers “will use their discretion” in deciding if a nonemergency call can be handled with a phone call or if they need to respond to the scene, police Chief Robert Deringer said.

Officers will continue responding to scenes as normal on emergency calls involving the safety or immediate danger of people or property.

“If there is face-to-face communication, please advise the officer if you have or had flu-like symptoms recently,” Deringer said in the notice to the department’s Facebook page.

New Kensington police have temporarily suspended all fingerprinting, including in criminal cases, and gun permits.

West Deer police Chief Jon Lape said his department will also respond to some nonemergency calls by phone. Although the township building and police department are closed to nonemployees, it’s still business as usual, Lape said.

“If anyone needs assistance with anything, residents can call the police department or township office,” Lape said.

Arnold chief Eric Doutt said his officers may also respond to nonemergency calls by phone. Emergency calls will be responded to as usual, Doutt said.

Plum police Chief Lanny Conley said his department was working on ideas and was planning to meet to discuss them Tuesday night.

Pittsburgh announced Friday changes to how its officers, firefighters and first responders would respond to calls.

Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said the city would stop sending a fire engine or truck company to less serious calls, but the city’s first responder program would still rush to calls involving serious hemorrhaging, severe trouble breathing or cardiac arrest.

Hissrich said that starting this week, the city would expand the Bureau of Police’s telephone reporting unit that will allow officers to handle situations requests for police reports, questions or advice over the phone instead of in person. Officers will still respond to all complaints and calls involving any type of violence, potential violence and crashes with injuries.

Emergency Management Division Chief Richard A. Linn Jr. said last week that plans then were to evaluate people by screening them when they call 911 to find out if they’re at risk and then to test and provide treatment to those who need it at home and not at a hospital.

The region’s first responders are training as the area responds to the covid-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services staff, along with some police officers and firefighters, learned proper ways to safely deal with emergencies as the coronavirus continues to spread.

They practiced procedures used to treat and otherwise make contact with a covid-19 patients and when to shift to using the high-risk personal protective equipment, according to a Facebook post on the Pittsburgh EMS Facebook page.

Tom Davidson and Brian Rittmeyer are Tribune-Review staff writers. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribDavidson. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.