Howell Township police said Friday that officers will not be responding to calls about mask use or social distancing violations.

In a memo, the department says, “Effective immediately, we will not accept nor respond to any report of a facial covering/mask, social distancing or indoor/outdoor gathering complaint. The only time we will consider a response would be for an egregious violation such as a packed house party."

Gov. Phil Murphy recently issued an executive order limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 150 people.

Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick tells News 12 New Jersey that the memo is not meant to be in defiance of Murphy’s executive orders. But he says that it does represent the beliefs of many police chiefs that he has spoken with.

“We are not going to come to your house to make sure you have less than 10 people inside your house. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to come bother you if you’re not wearing a mask. That’s your own option,” Kudrick says. “However, we do want you to be responsible. We don’t want you to be irresponsible by having house parties. Because if that’s the case, if it’s a large gathering, I absolutely feel that’s irresponsible and we will come address it.”

Kudrick says that he has seen overwhelming compliance with all of the executive orders since March in his community.