Michigan Police To Handle Non-Urgent Calls Over The Phone Due To Gas Prices

While gas prices across the nation have skyrocketed over the last few weeks, many people are feeling the impact — including some police officers in Michigan.

The Isabella County Sheriff's office in Central Michigan said that higher gas prices have forced them to rethink how to handle non-urgent calls. As they've exhausted the funds budgeted for fuel with several months left before the budget resets, Sheriff Michael Main has instructed deputies to try to manage whatever calls they can over the phone.

Main posted about the decision on the Isabella County Sheriff's Office Facebook. Here's what he said:

Isabella County Sheriff’s Office is feeling the pain at the pump as well. We have exhausted what funds were budgeted for fuel with several months to go before the budget reset. I have instructed the deputies to attempt to manage whatever calls are acceptable over the phone. This would be non-in-progress calls, non-life-threatening calls, calls that do not require evidence collection or documentation. Deputies will continue to provide patrols to all areas of the county, they will respond to those calls that need to be managed in person. Any call that is in progress with active suspects will involve a response by the deputies. I want to assure the community that safety is our primary goal, and we will continue to respond to those types of calls.

Gas Prices in Michigan are at an average of $5.21 a gallon, with the national average at $4.95 a gallon.