Skip to content
Bellingham/Reports/February 20, 2026

What Happened in Bellingham on Thursday, February 19th, 2026

Yesterday in Bellingham, police responded to 33 incidents, up 22% from 27 the day before. 2 violent crimes were reported, and officers made 9 arrests.

The most common incident type was Administrative, accounting for 12 of 33 reports (36% of total). The most active neighborhood was Meridian with 8 incidents.

Activity was roughly in line with the 30-day average of 31 incidents per day.

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

Incident Categories

Yesterday, Bellingham reported incidents across 6 categories. Administrative led with 12 incidents (36% of total), followed by Disorder with 7 and Theft & Burglary with 6.

Trending: Traffic & Vehicles is up 89% over the past 7 days (34 incidents this week vs 18 the prior week).

Incident Category Breakdown

What's In “Administrative”
PROPERTY - FOUND/RECOVERED3
INFORMATION REPORT2
MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION2
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE2
WARRANT ARREST1
SERVICE OF PAPERS1
DEATH INVESTIGATION1
Total Incidents33 22%
Arrests9 10%
Violent2 0%
Non-Violent31 24%

Violent Crime

2 violent crimes were reported in Bellingham yesterday, accounting for 6% of all incidents. This is unchanged from the prior day.

The most common violent offense was COLLISION - HIT & RUN with 1 of 2 incidents, followed by ASSAULT - Misdemeanor with 1. Of 2 violent incidents, 1 resulted in an arrest — a 50% arrest rate.

COLLISION - HIT & RUNViolent
11:54·Fairhaven·1000 Block of Mckenzie Ave
ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
20:29·Cordata·300 Block of Meadowbrook Ct

Arrests

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

Arrests accounted for 27% of all incidents. Of the 9 arrests, 3 were Traffic & Vehicles, 3 were Administrative, and 1 was Disorder. This is down 10% from the 10 arrests the prior day.

TRAFFIC STOP (Violation)
02:57·Traffic & Vehicles·Meridian
WARRANT ARREST
09:27·Administrative·Meridian
MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION
09:30·Administrative·Meridian
MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION
10:30·Administrative·Lettered Streets
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
11:58·Traffic & Vehicles·Meridian
MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
16:59·Disorder·Cordata
THEFT
19:39·Theft & Burglary·Puget
ASSAULT - MisdemeanorViolent
20:29·Assault & Violence·Cordata
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
23:10·Traffic & Vehicles·York

Neighborhood Activity

Yesterday, incidents were reported across 14 neighborhoods in Bellingham. Meridian had the highest activity with 8 incidents, followed by Cornwall Park with 5 and Lettered Streets with 5.

Meridian8
Cornwall Park5
Lettered Streets5
Downtown3
Cordata2
Roosevelt2
York1
Puget1

2 specific locations have appeared in the top 10 most active blocks for 4 or more of the last 7 days, including 500 Block of Grand Ave (5 of 7 days).

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

Hourly Breakdown

Activity in Bellingham yesterday peaked between 11 AM – 12 PM with 5 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 12am with no incidents reported.

Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 4 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 11, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 7, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 11. Morning was the busiest period overall.

Thursdays in Bellingham typically average 27 incidents. Yesterday's total of 33 is 6 above that 8-week average (22% higher).

Key Patterns

This Week Is Pacing Lower Than Last

Through Thursday (4 days), this week has recorded 112 incidents — 15% fewer than the 132 reported at the same point last week. The current pace suggests this week may finish below last week.

Traffic & Vehicles Up 89% This Week

Traffic & Vehicles incidents have risen sharply: 34 in the past 7 days compared to 18 the prior 7 days — a 89% increase. Today alone saw 4 traffic & vehicles incidents.

Unusually Busy for a Thursday

33 incidents is 22% above the 8-week Thursday average of 27. That's 6 more incidents than expected.

Full Incident Log

This log contains all 33 incidents reported to the Bellingham Police Department on Thursday, February 19th, 2026. Published Friday, February 20th, 2026.

Get the daily briefing

Free, every morning.