4,618 Square miles. 103,452 people. 5 deputies

The RegisterGuard
June 26, 2005
by Bill Bishop


There is frustration over calls for help that go unanswered as five patrol cars try to cover 4,618 square miles of unincorporated Lane County, where 103,452 people live. In total, the sheriff has 18 patrol deputies providing 24-hour coverage, seven days a week.

The county's overcrowded jail is the most high-profile image of the sheriff's budget shortfall. But it's not the only one.

She is not surprised that Eugene officials recently shot down a proposal by the county to consider forming a new taxing district to boost public safety in rural areas

The number of serious crimes reported increased 17 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year. The number of calls for less serious problems rose 12 percent in the same period, according to sheriff's department data.

Those are only the crimes that get reported, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold, who supervises Jacobson and three other deputies on the swing shift on this particular Thursday. Criminals are well aware of how thin the patrols are. Citizens seem to be catching on, too, he says.
Like Duh! especially when you keep "advertising on the front page of the paper" that you're shorthanded and do not respond to calls.

Relying on backup

It's dangerous for a deputy to go solo to high-risk calls.

The county's hills, valleys and forests create pockets where cell phones and radios don't work. Not far from Eugene, on the far side of Bailey Hill, is one such place. A deputy there cannot summon help if a call goes bad.

and again you are advertising this because?

Burnout among deputies is a growing concern for department commanders, says Sgt. Cliff Harrold.

I really feel for the sheriff's department and city police about lack of funding and manpower, but we are not given the complete picture.

The sheriff's department for example is more than just five officers. There are another five officers that are part of the "traffic team" which are self-funded. The primary job at the traffic team is to patrol the freeways. They are not allowed to respond to general law enforcement calls unless it is a life or death issue or providing backup. The rare exceptions are if they happen to be in an area of high priority and there are no other officers to respond in the area.

(Source: city and sheriff's officers that I have personally asked this question of)

It is also in my opinion and extremely "stupid" to advertise that you do not have coverage. Example, the DA giving out a list of what they will not respond to opens the doors for criminals and gives them free range.

I understand that the whole purpose of articles like this is for public support and sympathy.

However, you must also remember that public perception and support is very important to law enforcement.

When you hear that a department does not have enough personnel to protect its citizens, but yet you see a patrol car sitting on the side of the freeway with its lights off for hours running radar, the public does not understand that that is a traffic team member not a patrol officer. We do not see that they are two different things.

In the Eugene/Springfield, area crime is on the rise. What makes the news? A sting over prostitution. Obviously more important than tracking down the people that you stole my car or broke into my house. Oh, I forgot, you don't have the personnel to patrol.

Personally, I think it comes down to getting value for money and priority.

Although I do agree that keeping prostitution out of our neighborhoods helps makes our neighborhoods safer, I think that I would rather hear that they just busted a meth lab or a car theft ring over arresting nine Johns trying to get a little "whoopie" tonight.

To be fair, I cannot emphasize the point enough that it is not the officers fault. Most are excellent at what they do and they do the best that they can with what they have to work with, they just got stuck in the middle of the funding battle.