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Bellingham/Reports/January 6, 2026

What Happened in Bellingham on Monday, January 5th, 2026

Yesterday in Bellingham, police responded to 23 incidents, up 21% from 19 the day before. 1 violent crime was reported, and officers made 9 arrests.

The most common incident type was Administrative, accounting for 6 of 23 reports (26% of total). The most active neighborhood was Downtown with 4 incidents.

Overall activity was 30% below the 30-day average of 33 incidents per day.

Incident activity heatmap by hour and day
Nonviolent
Nonviolent Arrest
Violent
Violent + Arrest

Incident Categories

Yesterday, Bellingham reported incidents across 8 categories. Administrative led with 6 incidents (26% of total), followed by Disorder with 4 and Theft & Burglary with 4.

Administrative and Disorder were virtually tied, separated by just 2 incidents.

Trending: Traffic & Vehicles is up 138% over the past 7 days (19 incidents this week vs 8 the prior week).

Incident Category Breakdown

What's In “Administrative”
WARRANT ARREST2
DEATH INVESTIGATION1
PROPERTY - FOUND/RECOVERED1
INFORMATION REPORT1
SERVICE OF PAPERS1
Total Incidents23 21%
Arrests9 50%
Violent1 0%
Non-Violent22 22%

Violent Crime

1 violent crime was reported in Bellingham yesterday, accounting for 4% of all incidents. This is unchanged from the prior day.

The most common violent offense was ASSAULT - Misdemeanor with 1 of 1 incidents. Of 1 violent incidents, 1 resulted in an arrest — a 100% arrest rate.

ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
11:48·Happy Valley·2200 Block of Douglas Ave

Arrests

Bellingham police made 9 arrests yesterday, involving 7 individuals. 1 arrest was related to violent incidents.

Arrests accounted for 39% of all incidents. Of the 9 arrests, 2 were Theft & Burglary, 2 were Administrative, and 1 was Traffic & Vehicles. This is up 50% from the 6 arrests the prior day.

TRAFFIC STOP (Violation)
03:46·Traffic & Vehicles·Downtown
TRESPASS
07:34·Disorder·Downtown
THEFT
11:10·Theft & Burglary·Meridian
ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
11:48·Assault & Violence·Happy Valley
VIOLATION OF A COURT ORDER
11:58·Harassment & Threats·Lettered Streets
DRUG - NARCOTICS VIOLATIONS
16:09·Drugs & Alcohol·Sehome
WARRANT ARREST
16:13·Administrative·Sehome
SHOPLIFTING
20:40·Theft & Burglary·Meridian
WARRANT ARREST
21:22·Administrative·Meridian

Neighborhood Activity

Yesterday, incidents were reported across 11 neighborhoods in Bellingham. Downtown had the highest activity with 4 incidents, followed by Sehome with 3 and Meridian with 3.

Downtown4
Sehome3
Meridian3
Lettered Streets3
York2
Barkley2
Happy Valley2
Cordata1

1 specific location has appeared in the top 10 most active blocks for 4 or more of the last 7 days, including 1500 Block of N State St (4 of 7 days).

Explore all neighborhoods and their trends in Bellingham Neighborhood Safety. →

Hourly Breakdown

Activity in Bellingham yesterday peaked between 3 AM – 4 AM with 3 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 1am with no incidents reported.

Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 4 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 8, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 7, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 4. Morning was the busiest period overall.

Mondays in Bellingham typically average 44 incidents. Yesterday's total of 23 is 21 below that 8-week average (48% lower).

Key Patterns

Traffic & Vehicles Up 138% This Week

Traffic & Vehicles incidents have risen sharply: 19 in the past 7 days compared to 8 the prior 7 days — a 138% increase. Today alone saw 2 traffic & vehicles incidents.

Unusually Quiet for a Monday

23 incidents is 48% below the 8-week Monday average of 44. That's 21 fewer incidents than expected. This marks 3 consecutive days below the rolling average.

Full Incident Log

This log contains all 23 incidents reported to the Bellingham Police Department on Monday, January 5th, 2026. Published Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.

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