By Teddy Rydquist
Leader Staff Writer
With many having more free time on their hands in 2020 because of closures and lockdowns attributed to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Oxford Township and Village, unfortunately, saw rises in crime compared to the 2019 calendar year.
The township, patrolled by Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputies, responded to 15,101 calls for service in 2020, up about 7.6 percent from the 2019 total of 14,002.
It is important to note, not every dispatched call involves a crime, and a member of the Oxford Township Substation said an increase of this amount is not out of the ordinary.
The Village of Oxford Police Department – comprised of a total of 21 members, 13 reserve officers and four each of full and part-time officers – saw an increase of approximately 500 calls for service.
Domestic assault and family trouble incidents were up 57 percent, while drunk driving and drug-related offenses saw a 41 percent jump.
Per the department, with many dealing with quarantines and the subsequent anxiety, it makes sense why these household and substance issues trended in the wrong direction. The hope is, once Michigan fully re-opens and life returns to how we knew it pre-March 2020, these numbers will largely correct themselves and return to the mean.
On the bright side, the Village of Oxford’s breaking and entering, larceny, and fraud cases were down 45 percent and, even with the road construction, the number of automobile accidents within village limits decreased from 86 in 2019 to 58 in 2020.