Skip to content
Bellingham/Reports/February 20, 2026

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

Yesterday in Bellingham, police responded to 51 incidents, up 4% from 49 the day before. 3 violent crimes were reported, and officers made 9 arrests.

The most common incident type was Other Non-criminal, accounting for 14 of 51 reports (27% of total). The most active neighborhood was Meridian with 12 incidents.

Activity was roughly in line with the 30-day average of 50 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. Other Non-criminal led with 14 incidents (27% of total), followed by Theft with 7 and Disorderly Behavior (Non-Physical) with 7.

Driving Under the Influenceup 300% over the past 7 days (12 incidents this week vs 3 the prior week).

Incident Category Breakdown

What's in “Other Non-criminal”?
INFORMATION REPORT6
PROPERTY - FOUND/RECOVERED4
PROPERTY - LOST1
ASSIST OTHER AGENCY1
SERVICE OF PAPERS1
_SENILE PERSON1
Total Incidents51 4%
Arrests9 53%
Violent3 0%
Non-Violent48 4%

Violent Crime

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

ASSAULT - Misdemeanor
20:29·Cordata·300 Meadowbrook Ct
STALKING
20:30·Sehome·1200 E Maple St
RAPE
21:00·Birchwood·1400 Birchwood Ave

Arrests

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

Arrests accounted for 18% of all incidents. Of the 9 arrests, 3 were Other Criminal, 2 were Driving Under the Influence, and 1 was Traffic Stops. This is down 53% from the 19 arrests the prior day.

TRAFFIC STOP (Violation)
02:57·Traffic Stops·Meridian
WARRANT ARREST
09:27·Warrant Arrest·Meridian
MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION
09:30·Other Criminal·Meridian
MUNICIPAL CODE VIOLATION
10:30·Other Criminal·Lettered Streets
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
11:58·Driving Under the Influence·Meridian
View All

Neighborhood Activity

Yesterday, incidents were reported across 17 neighborhoods in Bellingham. Meridian had the highest activity with 12 incidents, followed by Lettered Streets with 8 and Downtown with 5.

Meridian12
Lettered Streets8
Downtown5
Cornwall Park5
Puget3
Birchwood3
Sehome2
Cordata2

2 specific locations have appeared in the top 10 most active blocks for 4 or more of the last 7 days, including 800 Lakeway Dr (5 of 7 days).

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

Hourly Breakdown

Activity in Bellingham yesterday peaked between 2 PM – 3 PM with 7 incidents during that hour. The quietest period was 12am with no incidents reported.

Overnight (12–6 AM) saw 5 incidents, morning (6 AM–12 PM) had 13, afternoon (12–6 PM) had 16, and evening (6 PM–12 AM) had 17. Evening was the busiest period overall.

Thursdays in Bellingham typically average 42 incidents. Yesterday's total of 51 is 9 incidents above that 8-week average (20% higher).

Key Patterns

This Week Is Pacing Lower Than Last

Through Thursday (4 days), this week has recorded 177 incidents — 21% fewer than the 225 reported at the same point last week. The current pace suggests this week may finish below last week.

Driving Under the Influence Up 300% This Week

Driving Under the Influence incidents have risen sharply: 12 in the past 7 days compared to 3 the prior 7 days — a 300% increase. Today alone saw 2 driving under the influence incidents.

Unusually Busy for a Thursday

51 incidents is 20% above the 8-week Thursday average of 42. That's 9 more incidents than expected.

Full Incident Log

This log contains all 51 incidents reported to the Bellingham Police Department on Thursday, February 19th, 2026. Published Friday, February 20th, 2026.

Get the daily briefing

Free, every morning.