The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office will take non-priority reports over the phone until at least April 1 "in an attempt to limit exposure of our personnel and the citizens we serve to the possibility of the coronavirus," officials said Monday.
The new policy will begin Tuesday.
Officials said the policy will be re-evaluated on April 1.
Residents who need to complete a police report may contact 423-622-0022.
Citizens who still wish to speak directly to a deputy in person may do so upon request.
Officials said, "We will have deputies available 8:00 am - 8:00 pm each day to take phone calls from citizens pertaining to non-critical calls.
"Rest assured the HCSO will still respond to all critical calls for service involving crimes in progress, instances of violence, and all traffic crashes.
"As we move forward in the coming days, we will continue to re-evaluate how we respond to service requests as we as a community work through the current public health situation."