News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
There were 61 reported felony cases in 1996, down from 88 in 1995. Misdemeanor cases were down to 283 in 1996 compared to 322 in 1995.
According to police chief David Haynes, at least part of the decrease in reported criminal activity can be credited to a partnership between the community and the police in working "to solve or prevent problems before they became criminal matters."
Haynes believes that having a full complement of five full-time officers and the institution of programs such as nighttime building patrols of businesses has begun to show an impact.
"You need enough people and the right mentality so that they understand that our job is not just `traditional police work.'" Haynes said.
Increased training and a greater presence on the streets at night might account for the sharp increase in DUII arrests, according to Haynes. The report noted that arrests for driving under the influence of intoxicants doubled from the past two years for a total of 32 in 1996 compared to 16 in both 1994 and 95.
Haynes said that Sisters officers are now more highly trained in recognizing symptoms of drug use and that there seem to be more people driving under the influence of drugs.
"There's no doubt, at least in my mind, that drug use is up," Haynes said.
Other factors may also have acted to reduce the overall crime rate last year. Haynes noted that a strong economy can create a more stable social environment, resulting in less criminal activity.
And a cutback in traffic enforcement during the busy months of the year may have played a role, Haynes indicated.
Haynes was required last summer by City Administrator Barbara Warren to reduce the number of vacation, holiday and "comp time" hours worked by Sisters officers due to a growing revenue deficit in the city budget.
According to Haynes, the area most affected by the resulting cuts to staff level was traffic enforcement. The number of traffic citations issued dropped from 1,423 in 1995 to 85 last year and the number of written warnings dropped from 1,265 to 872.
Aside from the effects of the cutback on city revenue, Haynes noted, the lower level of traffic enforcement may have indirectly reduced the department's criminal cases. This is because, according to Haynes, traffic stops often initiate other police action -- warrant arrests being a common example.
The coming year promises challenges and changes in the Sisters Police Department.
Officer Don Pray has been detailed to the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team until this spring, with his salary picked up by Deschutes County. His detective work has been picked up by Chief Haynes and Sergeant Rich Shawver.
Officer Chris Bangs turned in his badge this month and has taken a position with the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Haynes said Officer Allan Borland will be trained to take over Bangs' duties as the department's motor officer, filling what Haynes characterized as "a physically and mentally demanding job."
Reserve officer Todd Williver has been hired as a full-time temporary officer to fill the opening left by Bangs' departure.
But that position may evaporate in the face of Measure 47-mandated budget cuts. Haynes said he has been told to cut 10 percent out of his budget to meet the demands set up by the property tax rollback.
"In order to cut 10 percent, I only see one way to do it, and that's to cut one officer's position," Haynes said. "Hopefully we'll do that through attrition."
But the cuts may not stop there. Half of one officer's position is funded through a federal grant for community policing, which Haynes said may be imperiled by Measure 47-related cuts.
The grant's purpose is to fund community policing efforts "above and beyond normal staffing levels," Haynes said, not to replace locally funded positions.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will review each recipient's situation to see whether they still use the grant money. If the Sisters Police Department loses the grant, it could force Haynes to cut two positions instead of one.
Haynes emphasized that the effectiveness of Sisters' police force -- which is large compared to other city's Sisters' size -- is hard to measure.
"Once the crime rate goes down, how do you measure what doesn't occur?" he said.
The police chief expressed some concern that citizens might interpret the drop in the crime rate as signaling less need for a fully staffed police force. He thinks that would be a mistake.
"If you buy into that," he said, "what you end up with is a roller coaster effect" where a drop in crime signals a reduction in force and then an increase when the rate goes up.
But the future size and shape of the Sisters Police Department will remain unknown until the effects of Measure 47 are fully understood and until the city's budget for the next year is worked out. Funding will determine what the police chief has to work with and, he said, "we'll work with whatever figures we end up with."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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