The Santa Maria Police Department says they are receiving calls from concerned community members about other community members outside of their residence.
Officials say these calls have increased since the directive by Governor Gavin Newsom for Californians to remain home during the Covid-19 health crisis.
Department officials say their dispatchers have been performing remarkably under incredibly difficult circumstances by prioritizing hundreds of calls during a very long shift.
Officers are asking the community to refrain from calling the communications center to express frustration about seeing people outside of their homes.
"Our hope is that our community members responsibly follow the statewide directive, however, the Santa Maria Police Department will not be ordering residents out of parks or off of public walkways," Lt. Mark Streker writes in a press release.
