CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Calgarians are either working from home or staying indoors as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19 around the community.

This has led to many people hanging up their car keys for the time being which could impact the Calgary Police Service.

“The lighter amount of traffic on the roadway and stuff like that we are seeing less traffic enforcement being done,” Mark Neufeld, Calgary Police Chief, said at Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting.

“We haven’t projected [the cost] just yet but I do flag it because it could be significant,” he added.

The number of people staying home is also seeing a reduction in calls for service. Overall, calls have decreased by 18 per cent compared to the five-year average.

“Residential break-and-enter numbers are down, and you can appreciate that people are now working from home, kids aren’t in school and that sort of thing so naturally homes are not a target,” the chief said.

“But of course, with business closures, in particular some of the industrial areas in the city, we are seeing break-and-enters into those closed businesses starting to go up,” he added.

CPS predicts it will see an increase of home invasions and robberies in the future due to COVID-19 shutting down airports and borders which is choking the drug trade.

The biggest challenge CPS faces during the public health crisis is the speed at which the virus spreads and that it’s an invisible enemy that could be in any community across the city.