Law enforcement agencies taking different approaches to COVID-19 violations

Law enforcement agencies statewide are taking dissimilar approaches to cracking down on COVID-19 violations.

From March to December, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police responded to more than 4,000 violations of Gov. Roy Cooper's executive order on gatherings. The number is much smaller in the Triangle. Raleigh police said they've only cited two businesses for exceeding capacity.

Local law enforcement agencies say they prefer an approach centered around education and encouragement, to follow the rules, and enforcement only for repeat offenders.

"This will, and can, create more work on the enforcement side, and that's not what we want," Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said.

Baker says his office received 200 phone calls about "possible" COVID-19 protocol violations in 2020.

From those 200 calls, police served just one citation. That penalty went to woman who violated the state’s restriction on large gatherings in December when deputies said they found up to 200 people gathered outside a home in Zebulon for a concert.

"We get the call, we got out, we assess, and if it's something that needs to be dealt with, we're going to deal with [it]," Baker said.

Locally, the number of violations pale in comparison to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area:

"Our citizens are responding, which is why we don't have as many violations," Baker explained.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood says his office, along with other law enforcement agencies, have chosen to approach violations with education and encouragement, not with citations.

"That remains our preferred response," Blackwood said. "But repeated violations or egregious violations cannot be tolerated. It's not fair to the permanent residents of this county."

Officials added that overall, the community has done well responding to requests for compliance, which has limited the action law enforcement has had to take.