Your message has been received. You expect our city to be proactive in keeping the community safe and maintaining a high quality of life for everyone in Tigard. I have heard this from you at the Street Fair, Fireside Chats, and on social media.
I am keenly aware that the Tigard Police Department plays a key role in helping us meet your expectations. Please know that the Tigard Police have found creative solutions time and again, despite constrained resources, including:
Red Means Stop: Without question, there is no substitute for strong police visibility near highly traveled intersections. But police can’t be everywhere at all times. We must use proven tools like photo traffic enforcement, which arrives this fall at three collision-prone intersections in Tigard.
Our goal is to lower the number of accidents caused by drivers running red lights. This fall, we begin initial testing of the equipment and continue our significant public education campaign. You will benefit from safer roads in Tigard whether you are biking, driving, or walking.
Can You ID Me? The Tigard Police have a proven track record of implementing creative solutions to address community needs. While the number of police officers has not increased over the last decade, we have harnessed the power of our collective community. You, the Tigard community, have quickly taken to using the “Can You ID Me?” platform to identify criminal suspects. Last year, the community submitted 25 tips, six of which led to arrests.
We will continue to look for additional creative solutions to implement and use technology to our advantage and keep your neighborhood safe.
However, our police officers will continue to face an increasing number of calls for service, with less time to respond to each. Every minute matters when responding to an alleged robbery or assisting a victim of domestic violence. A minute can be the difference in saving a life or apprehending a violent criminal. With this in mind, I encourage you to watch a brief video that details a typical day shift for Officer Eric Enzenberger: www.tigard-or.gov/police/15calls.php.
It’s clear that our officers no longer have enough minutes to do the job we need them to do. This fact was driven home by a recent performance audit, completed by an outside consultant, which found the Tigard Police need to “add eight additional officers to achieve the goal of five-minute response time to priority 1 and 2 (major crimes) calls for service.”
Our city council is proposing a Public Safety Levy in May 2020 to fund ten additional police officers to address our current and future policing needs. This proposal is thoughtful and reflects your messages about the importance of ensuring a safe Tigard today and into the future.
I look forward to discussing the levy at my next Fireside Chat on Thursday, Oct. 3, 6:30 p.m. at Tapphoria, 13815 SW Pacific Highway. I also encourage you to invite us into your neighborhood to discuss the levy proposal.
You can do so by completing a short form at www.tigard-or.gov/city_hall/council_connections.php. I can also be reached directly at jason@tigard-or.gov.
