|
City of Columbia City 1840 Second Street, PO Box 189, Columbia City, OR 97018 (503) 397-4010 |
||
Police Department
Objectives of the Police Department are to maintain the peace and quality of life that the City of Columbia City presently enjoys. The Police Department enforces state and local laws and ordinances, protects life and property through preventive and proactive law enforcement practices and contributes to the livability of the City by being an active participant in the community policing model.
Michael Reedy serves as the City's part-time Chief
of Police. He is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the
operation and activities of the Police Department. He can be reached by
calling (503) 397-4010, faxing to (503) 366-2870, e-mailing to colcity@columbia-city.org, or
mailing to PO Box 189, Columbia City, OR 97018.
Police protection services are provided to the community by a part-time Police Chief, a part-time Police Sergeant, three part-time Police Officers, and two volunteer Reserve Officers. The volunteer Reserve Officers have been extremely valuable in assisting the Department in every day activities. The Reserve Officer program for the City has been invaluable in light of the limited number of regular officers.
The Police Department is funded by property taxes,
fines and intergovernmental revenue.
The Department has historically been a community
oriented policing agency by its function and nature. As the City grows,
we plan to continue to focus on community oriented policing, and enhance our
community policing efforts to further involve the public and work closely with
them to deal with community issues. As a result, more training for
officers in community oriented policing skills will be addressed.
Department Objectives for 2006-07
Continue to improve officer and employee safety as
well as minimize liability through continued training and upgrading
equipment. Target date: Ongoing.
Continue to update and improve policies and
procedures in order to improve officer safety and reduce liability exposure and
maintain accountability. Target date: Ongoing.
Past years efforts to obtain and implement a police
records management system have been very successful. As part of this
system, the department is confident it can incorporate a child fingerprinting
and identification program as identified in objectives for this past
year. Target date: August 31, 2006.
Continue police reserve recruitment in order to
encourage citizen involvement as well as establish a qualified pool of reserve
officers so that the department can increase visibility and contact with
residents. Target date: Ongoing.
Efforts to identify funding for training in skills
education not readily offered in the Pacific Northwest have been extremely
successful. These programs will continue to offer unique opportunities
for officers to participate in high level training at little or no cost to the
City. Target date: Ongoing.
Obtain a replacement vehicle for the 1992 Chevrolet
Caprice that has recently been taken out of service. Target date:
October 1, 2006.
To work better with the community and minimize
concerns expressed by residents regarding loose dogs by:
1) Making more officer contact with owners of
animals that are chronic problems in an effort to better educate owners as to
the negative effect their loose animals have on their neighbors and the
community.
2) Working with owners to encourage licensing
of animals in order to be able to identify them more readily.
3) Working more closely with county animal
control in order to have ready access to dog license records so that owners can
be identified more efficiently.
4) Obtaining a carrying crate to use in a
public works vehicle to transport animals instead of in the back of a patrol
vehicle.
Target date: Ongoing.
Continue cooperative agreements and mutual aid agreements with neighboring agencies to insure that the department continues to receive assistance from those agencies at times when there is only one officer or no officers on duty to handle calls. Target date: Ongoing.
Prior Year Accomplishments:
The Department obtained a Local Law Enforcement
Block Grant to purchase a video camera. The computer was upgraded.
Four officers attended the Caliber Press Street Survival Seminar, dealing with
officer safety issues whereby officers are trained in updated technology and
skills to deal with life and death situations. A new 2005 Ford Crown
Victoria police car was purchased as a replacement for a 1989 unmarked patrol
car. Two separate grants were awarded to emergency service agencies in
Columbia County for the purchase and installation of Mobile Data Terminals
(MDTs). Of our three patrol cars, two were equipped with MDT units under
the grants. The MDTs allow officers to receive calls for service at a
faster rate and see what calls are holding, what information was received by
the dispatch center, and what other law enforcement units are available to
assist if needed. The MDTs also allow the officers to run checks of
vehicles, property and individuals from their patrol vehicles. One
officer received certification in Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS), one
officer is currently going through the certification, and three other officers
completed re-certification of current LEDS certificates. Certification is
required by law before any officer can access LEDS. LEDS is a statewide
system that goes hand in hand with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
system. These critical systems are used routinely in tracking persons
with warrants, missing persons, persons with criminal histories, driving
records and other data related records. Columbia City police officers
worked closely with the St. Helens Police Department’s school resource officer
assigned with the Columbia City Grade School, as well as with another officer
assigned to the Drug Awareness and Recognition Education (D.A.R.E.) program to
accomplish mutual goals and objectives regarding school safety, helping
students become more familiar and comfortable with officers as well as giving
them a place to go to feel safer in their learning environment. A
risk assessment of the department was conducted by an outside agency, and the
department is in the process of implementing recommendations resulting from the
assessment. The department policies and procedures were updated.