Sisters deputy moves to a forest assignment

Deputy Alan Borland has been a police officer in Sisters since the days when the city had its own police department.

Now the Deschutes County deputy sheriff formerly assigned to the City of Sisters substation has a new assignment with the sheriff’s office assisting the Forest Service in patrolling the Deschutes National Forest. The assignment was effective December 2.

“This is a two-year assignment,” Borland explained. “I will be enforcing state laws while on patrol on national forest and I will also serve as eyes and ears for federal law violations that I can turn over to Forest Service law enforcement personnel.”

Federal personnel cannot enforce state law on national forests, but with a deputy sheriff available, any criminal activity violating state law will receive his attention, Borland explained.

As the only full-time deputy sheriff assigned to this work, he will work out of Bend, covering all of the Deschutes National Forest in Deschutes County.

Borland is perhaps the best-known police officer in Sisters.

He worked out of the City of Sisters substation for 13 years. Prior to that, he served as an officer with the City of Sisters police department for five years. He will continue to live in the Sisters area.