Sisters ponders future of policing in city

The city of Sisters is the only municipality in Deschutes County that contracts for police services with the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, a practice that has spanned 20 years.

According to Public Information Officer Sgt. William Bailey of the DCSO, "There is a minimum of one deputy assigned to the Sisters area patrol district 24 hours a day. This deputy is responsible for calls of service both inside and outside the city of Sisters."

Bailey went on to explain that if more than one deputy is required for a call for service, additional deputies will be sent from county police districts in Bend and Redmond. They also ask police at Black Butte Ranch, the Oregon State Patrol, and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement for assistance at times as well.

New this summer are the bike patrols in downtown Sisters which started with the Fourth of July. They are staffed by patrol and reserve officers on overtime, providing hours in addition to the minimum 120 hours a week for which the City contracts.

"Our bike patrols are part of the Community Action Target Team and we anticipate using these bike patrols on the busier weekends in Sisters from Memorial Day through the Sisters Folk Festival," Bailey explained.

The days and hours of the weekend bike patrols vary but the deputies will be in the downtown area during the busier parts of the day.

Occasionally in conversation, the idea of reinstating a Sisters Police Department surfaces. Prior to contracting with the County, Sisters had its own police force with vehicles, including a motorcycle now housed at the public works facility.

City manager Brant Kucera told The Nugget he thinks as the city continues to grow, the need for a local police force will probably also grow.

Council President Nancy Connolly notes that as Sisters' population and tourism numbers have increased, there has been an increase in complaints regarding quality of life issues (vandalism, car break-ins, etc.). She said the current visioning process has highlighted this concern.

"During the upcoming City strategic planning session, I will advocate for a feasibility study for the possibility of reinstating a City of Sisters Police Department. I hope all aspects, including regional partnerships, will be investigated," Connolly said. "It has been over 20 years since Sisters disbanded its police force. Our contract with Deschutes County Sheriff's Office ends June 2020. I believe our population growth combined with increased tourism merits a thorough review of current and future police services."

Mayor Chuck Ryan concurred with Connolly's assessment and added another concern. "We definitely need to analyze this as part of our upcoming strategic plan process. I really don't know how feasible it is financially to have our own force, but I will go on record in saying that there are some concerns I have with the current arrangement, including the fact that the discipline in record-keeping has been lacking."

Sgt. Bailey pointed out, "The contract deputy working in the city of Sisters comes with full services the DCSO provides to the community. Those services include the response of the entire patrol team of six to eight deputies, the Detective Division, Search and Rescue services, SWAT team response, patrol vehicles, and automotive maintenance."

Bailey indicated that in a recent case involving serving a warrant here in Sisters for attempted murder, the SWAT team was required.

"When you need them, you need them," Bailey said.

For the first year (2017-18) of the current three-year contract with the DCSO, there was no increase in cost over the prior year. This year's amount of $588,316 reflects a four percent inflationary increase and 2019-20 will see another four percent increase.

Sgt. Bailey indicated that the number of cases handled each year fluctuates. That number can be easily impacted depending on several factors. He used as an example, if there are 10 car break-ins in one or two evenings, probably done by the same perpetrator, each one of those break-ins is written up as a separate case, so it can look like there is a spike in crime when in fact, one individual in a few days can skew the total.

When asked if the types of crimes or level of crime in Sisters is changing over the past five years, Bailey responded, "As population increases, crime in that area can be expected to increase proportionately. Vandalism or criminal mischief cases for the last five years in Sisters are: 2013 - 36; 2014 - 10; 2015 - 23; 2016 - 16; 2017 - 9; and so far in 2018 - 3." Overall case numbers varied from 146 in 2016, to 119 in 2017, and 128 so far in 2018.

To establish a City police force would require front-end expenditures, requiring the accumulation of funds prior to start-up for such things as vehicle purchase and equipment.

All those connected to the City and interviewed about policing in Sisters agreed that now is the time to begin exploring and planning for the future of law enforcement in Sisters.