On Wednesday, June 27 Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner and several of his staff – maybe most of his staff after the severe budget cuts – met with residents of our Mohawk Valley. He spent the first hour or so outlining the duties and responsibilities of the various departments and discussing how the departments will be staffed following the cuts. Then he took questions from residents as to, specifically, how residents can help to minimize the shock of losing most of our already scanty law enforcement coverage.
He stressed that the Sheriff’s office simply does not have the resources to respond to and properly file reports on property crimes: they barely have the resources to respond to life-threatening emergencies. The reporting forms are posted on-line and residents are encouraged to file a complete report in the event a crime occurs. The crime and location will be logged, as well as the serial numbers of any valuables lost. These, then, may be returned in the event of recovery by the Sheriff’s office. Here’s a link to the form »
Please fill one out and send it in if you experience a loss or are the victim of a misdemeanor crime, it’s the only way the sheriff’s office can document the need for more law enforcement.
As a stop-gap measure, Sheriff Turner also talked of revitalizing the Reserve Deputy Program. The Sheriff’s office has plans to offer back-to-back training academies to train volunteer deputies who will be sworn in to assist the sheriff. These may even be utilized to provide patrols in outlying areas, like ours. Here’s a link to the website and more information on the program.
You are encouraged to volunteer.