COVID-19 Update: Tigard Police Modify Service

Our thoughts are with our community right now, knowing that this is a challenging time for residents and businesses.

The health and safety of our officers, staff, and community members are our top priorities. In conjunction with the most recent COVID-19 developments and our Continuity of Operations Plan, we have made the following modifications to our services to balance the importance of staying healthy while keeping our community safe:

• Focus on our core functions. Officers will primarily respond in person to threats to life and property, crimes in progress.
• Reinforce patrol unit staffing where necessary. “We will have to be nimble in how resources are deployed,” Tigard Police Chief Kathy McAlpine said. A plan is in place to reassign sworn officers to patrol from other units if staffing levels are impacted by the virus. School Resource and Traffic Safety Officers have already been reassigned to patrol as a proactive measure.
• Conduct business by phone whenever possible. Many cold crimes and questions can be handled over the phone.
• Adhere to social distancing practices. Officers will try to maintain recommended distances of six feet and interact outside of a home and business, where possible.
• Ask about exposure. Before they visit, officers will ask about whether the people they are contacting have been exposed to the virus to determine if additional precautionary measures are needed.
• Close police lobby. Until further notice, the police lobby is closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Cancel community events.

Accessing Police Services

• If you need emergency police assistance, call 9-1-1.
• If you need to speak to an officer and it is not an emergency, contact the police non-emergency number at 503-629-0111.
• For deliveries, records requests, tow releases, liquor licenses, alarm permits, and other general inquiries, call 503-639-6168 and choose option 5.

Chief McAlpine and the Tigard Police Department realize that these necessary changes are not ideal. Chief McAlpine said, “Thank you for your support and assistance during this temporary modification. We appreciate working through this together.”