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Bellingham/Reports/January 7, 2026

What Happened in Bellingham on Tuesday, January 6th, 2026

Yesterday in Bellingham, police responded to 37 incidents, up 61% from 23 the day before. 3 violent crimes were reported, and officers made 7 arrests.

The most common incident type was Administrative, accounting for 15 of 37 reports (41% of total). The most active neighborhood was Downtown with 11 incidents.

Overall activity was 13% above 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 15 incidents (41% of total), followed by Behavioral Health with 5 and Disorder with 4.

Administrative alone accounted for more incidents than the next 3 categories combined, which totaled 13.

Trending: Domestic & Family is up 129% over the past 7 days (16 incidents this week vs 7 the prior week).

Incident Category Breakdown

What's In “Administrative”
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE4
WARRANT ARREST2
CIVIL CASE2
PROPERTY - FOUND/RECOVERED2
INFORMATION REPORT2
CONTACT SUBJECT1
FIRE INVESTIGATION1
PROPERTY - LOST1
Total Incidents37 61%
Arrests7 22%
Violent3 200%
Non-Violent34 55%

Violent Crime

3 violent crimes were reported in Bellingham yesterday, accounting for 8% of all incidents. This is up 200% from the prior day.

The most common violent offense was ASSAULT - Misdemeanor with 1 of 3 incidents, followed by COLLISION - HIT & RUN with 1. Of 3 violent incidents, 1 resulted in an arrest — a 33% arrest rate.

ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
12:15·Downtown·200 Block of Lottie St
COLLISION - HIT & RUNViolent
16:57·York·1300 Block of N State St
BURGLARYViolent
22:58·Meridian·4400 Block of Meridian St

Arrests

Bellingham police made 7 arrests yesterday, involving 6 individuals. 1 arrest was related to violent incidents.

Arrests accounted for 19% of all incidents. Of the 7 arrests, 2 were Administrative, 2 were Drugs & Alcohol, and 1 was Traffic & Vehicles. This is down 22% from the 9 arrests the prior day.

WARRANT ARREST
01:42·Administrative·Barkley
TRAFFIC STOP (Violation)
02:09·Traffic & Vehicles·Lettered Streets
DRUGS - INVESTIGATION
08:52·Drugs & Alcohol·Downtown
WARRANT ARREST
08:52·Administrative·Downtown
THEFT
11:04·Theft & Burglary·Cornwall Park
ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
12:15·Assault & Violence·Downtown
DRUG - NARCOTICS VIOLATIONS
23:55·Drugs & Alcohol·Birchwood

Neighborhood Activity

Yesterday, incidents were reported across 12 neighborhoods in Bellingham. Downtown had the highest activity with 11 incidents, followed by Lettered Streets with 6 and Meridian with 4.

Downtown accounted for 30% of all incidents — a quarter or more of the city's activity in a single neighborhood.

Downtown11
Lettered Streets6
Meridian4
Cornwall Park4
Puget2
Barkley2
Birchwood2
Silver Beach2

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 10 AM – 11 AM with 4 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 3am with no incidents reported.

Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 5 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 12, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 10, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 10. Morning was the busiest period overall.

Tuesdays in Bellingham typically average 52 incidents. Yesterday's total of 37 is 15 below that 8-week average (28% lower).

Key Patterns

This Week Is Pacing Higher Than Last

Through Tuesday (2 days), this week has recorded 60 incidents — 18% more than the 51 reported at the same point last week. If the pace holds, the week could finish well above last week’s total.

Domestic & Family Up 129% This Week

Domestic & Family incidents have risen sharply: 16 in the past 7 days compared to 7 the prior 7 days — a 129% increase. Today alone saw 2 domestic & family incidents.

Unusually Quiet for a Tuesday

37 incidents is 28% below the 8-week Tuesday average of 52. That's 15 fewer incidents than expected.

Full Incident Log

This log contains all 37 incidents reported to the Bellingham Police Department on Tuesday, January 6th, 2026. Published Wednesday, January 7th, 2026.

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