‘Relationships are critical’
With public safety calls climbing high, leaders say working together matters
ONTARIO — The numbers are up. This includes the number of calls for police response, rescue and people lodged in the Malheur County Jail.
This was among comments from a panel of public safety agency officials who spoke during the Ontario Area Chamber of Commerce Forum at the Clarion Inn on Monday. They spoke about the challenges they see for local law enforcement and other emergency responders.
On the panel were Malheur County Sheriff Brian Wolfe, Oregon State Police Lt. Mark Duncan, Ontario Police Chief Cal Kunz, Nyssa Police Chief Raymond Rau, Ontario Fire Chief Terry Leighton and Malheur County Ambulance Service District Director Bob Dickinson.
The panel was organized by Maggie Wood, with Citizens on Patrol.
The lead-off speaker was Wolfe, who said his office was involved in more search-and-rescue missions in the last year, than any time before.
Usually, those calls average 11 to 15 a year, Wolfe said. In 2017, however, there were 37 searches, with one still unresolved.
That case, regarding missing man Berry Howard, has been turned over to the newly formed cold case investigative unit, Wolfe said. Members of the unit have been tasked with taking another look at the case of Howard, a U.S. Army veteran and father of four who was last seen April 19, 2017 in a rural part of Malheur County.
Calls for service were up by 400 in 2017 and the number of people lodged in the Malheur County jail was up by 200, he said. Until 2017, Wolfe said, the jail population had averaged in the 60s but now averages at about 90.
People who are arrested and brought to the jail are held until they see a judge or bail out, Wolfe said.
Next was Kunz. Having relocated to Ontario from a much larger city (Salt Lake City) and larger police force, he likes the good working relationship between the various departments, including his department and the fire department.
“We really work together,” Kunz said.
With the current staff level, patrol officers do their own follow-up and are continually interrupted from doing that, going “call-to-call-to-call,” he said.
Officers are not able to have a presence in the neighborhood which would help prevent crime, Kunz said.
“The more officers we have out in the community, the less crime we have,” he said.
Kunz described Ontario as a small town with big city problems.
Duncan also said he is pleased with the working relationship between law enforcement and other agencies.
“Relationships are critical when you are trying to do a mission,” he said. “You have the ability to have each others back.
“We make it work,” Rau said.
One of his concerns, he said, is the amount of marijuana circulating in the area with legalization in Oregon. The challenge is how to keep it out of schools, he said and away from youth, he said.
“It is not OK,” Duncan said, about marijuana use. “No one talks about it.”
Another concern of his is that too many turn away when they see something happening, he said.
People see accidents happen on the highway and do not stop to give assistance or don’t say anything when they see a crime occur, he said.
“The best police officers are the citizens themselves” Duncan said.
Leighton and Dickinson both defended the use of the Rescue One Truck in responding to medical calls, as well as fire calls.
“Because there is a need,” Leighton said about why they respond.
There are times when obesity is an issue and it takes more than a two-person ambulance crew to move a patient, he said.
Some members of the fire department are emergency medical technicians and can either initiate or assist with medical treatment in an accident, Dickinson said, and at time are needed for extrication.
One of the problems for the ambulance services is finding and retaining volunteers to help with staffing, he said, and part of the issue is being is the time, cost and effort, to keep up with state requirements to stay certified.
Comments
Post a Comment