"I understand now, thank you."
The head of the Flint family of course understood what the chief of police meant—Innsmouth was once a town, at that time it was famous for shipbuilding and was quite prosperous. But with the decline of Innsmouth's manufacturing industry, it now more resembles a village, with most people gathered in the eastern part of the town, and many other places are ruins and wreckage of houses long abandoned.
Before, few people would come to Innsmouth, the superstition and rumors that circulated about them, although foolish, effectively deterred outsiders from trying to explore. But now it's different, more and more people are coming to Innsmouth, among them are tourists, and some who confuse the residents of Innsmouth—like backpackers, these idiots who don't have much money and just run around with a bag, even the residents of Innsmouth, who worship the Evil God, are baffled, curious why people would travel everywhere without money to eat.