Lack Of Space, Facilities, Pay
Bring Headaches To City Police
SECOND
SECTION
Eitoblithed 1873 ROSEBURG, OREGON THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1952 62-52
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NIGHT PATROLMAN Meredith Freeman (left) takes call
over police radio while Leif Hanson jots down notation on
a police car's clip board or "hot sheet."
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SANITARY FACILITIES at city jail afford little privacy and
is subject of numerous complaints among prisoners.
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.05
Prisoners Crowd Old Jail;
Turnover Of Officers High
By KEN METZLER
It's tough to be a cop in Roseburg, and it's no picnic to be
a criminal offender.
Lack of such basic police
handicaps the Roseburg force. But if they catch their man,
he'll find jail isn't at all comfortable.
Overcrowded conditions are
readily apparent when the week
end drunks and vagrants are stack
ed behind the iron bars. As many
as 31 prisoners have been held in
the jail originally built tor five.
Women for whom there are no
facilities, are lodged in the county
jail.
That, and a lot of other things,
are problems the Roseburg po
lice force are faced with day after
dav.
Sometimes it make: officers
want to quit their jobs in Rose
burg and find employment else
where. Low pay, inadequate facil
ities and lack of space are the
three major faults, officers say.
Such was the upshot of a re
cent discussion with the Roseburg
department's night shift.
Only three men Chief Ted
Mazac, assistant Chief James
Mc Alpine and Meter Maintenance
Man Erwin Short have been
on the police force for more than
one year. The rest of the constantly-changing
department is brand
new at Roseburg, though some of
ficers have had considerable ex
perience elsewhere.
Job Become Likeable
Most officers like police work.
Despite low pay inconveniences
and odd wording hours, they'll
tell vou it gets iu the blood to the
point where they'd rather oe a
policeman than eat well almost.
inrougn expuneiu-c aim iiaimuK
they soon come to be able to spot
a drunk driver a mile away. He's
either driving too slow, too fast
or too erratically.
They can spot offenders and
wanted subjects, too, often just by
the subject's reaction to the sight
of a uniformed officer.
Compared to other cities of sim
ilar size, the officers say, Rose
burg is fortunate in having few
major crimes. It does, however,
have the usual quota of drunks,
drunk drivers, "yags," and other
petty offenders.
The patrolmen estimate that a
good 90 per cent of the crimes here
are the result or an aftermath of
drinking. Included in this category
are offenses like disorderly con
duct, drunk driving, assault and
battery, brawls and similar vio
lations. .
Sex offenses, rampant In many
cities, are "unbelieveably low"
here in the opinion of the police-
But traffic tie-ups due largely to
narrow, erratic streets, present a
problem. Officers also state that
street lighting in many of the city's
residential areas is poor ana con
ducive to prowling.
Needed Items Listed
But the main problem reverts
to equipment. Sgt Harry demons,
in charge of the 4 to midnight
shift, says an $800 equipment al
lowance would take care of the
basic "must have" articles.
These include such simple items
as brooms and dustpans to sweep
glass off streets after an accident;
fingerprint equipment, a camera
for taking evidence pictures, night
sticks for each officer (there's only
one in the entire department), tear
gas for breaking disturbances and
flushing subjects from buildings,
flares, blankets, axes, measuring
't (V.lol
"r certoln oro)
per.
needs as fingerprint equipment
tapes, . gas masks the list could
fo on for many paragraphs. The
departent has none of these
items.
Citv Councilman Frank Ashley
chairman of the council's police
commission, told The News-Re
view that $800 didn t seem unreas
onable. Much of the problem and also
the solution of the problem hinges
on the city hall, built in the 1890s
and condemned 25 years ago.
The police department has ex
panded since then but the build
ing is as small as ever. As a
result, ' space is at a premium,
and simply doesn't exist for stor
age of equipment and evidence. --
Furthermore, when some of the
town's finest citizens are paying
their overtime parking fines, of
ficers' faces are rightfully red
when they are forced to brine pris
oners through the main office to
the iail in the rear.
Pay Scale Cited '
When an officer starts work . at
Roseburg he's required to buy his
own uniform a common practice
for most small cities. He also
must buy his own firearm, gun
belt, handcuffs, ammunition ev
erything, in fact, except the badge
which is provided by the city.
Rookie patrolmen start at S285
per month and after six months
ar raised , K00 That., where
the raises stop. A sergeant gets
S3 15, assistant chief $330 and chief
$350.
The Roseburg department- con
sists of 14 oersnns, including Chief
Mazac, Assistant Chief McAlpine,
Mcterman Short: three shift ser
geants, Harry demons, Leif Han
son, and Vernon Murdoch; Clerk
Catherine demons; Night Patrolman-Clerk
Lester Hogan; and six
patrolmen, Vernon Zimmerman,
joe Suiter, Meredith Freeman, Ed
Katzmarek, John Brennan, and
Carl Smith.
In addition to Its usual role of
arresting offenders, investigating
crimes, and handling traffic, the
police department provides infor
mation, handles messages, and re
turns lots of lost youngsters to
their parents.
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By The Amociated Preu
Voters went to the polls in re
cord numbers at municipal and
other elections in cities and towns
across Washington state Tuesday,
with these main results:
Seattle elected a new mayor but
rejected fluoridation, a thorny is
sue that had divided the city in
the stormy pre-election campaign.
Tacoma named a retired police
captain public safety commissioner
replacing James Kerr, who re
signed after a bitter dispute with
the city council.
Everett apuarently turned down
Archie T. Van Winkle, Congres
sional Medal of Honor winner in
his bid for a city council seat.
And Yakima voters handed Pro
gressive Education a seback by
supporting a school board majority
involved in a controversy with the
school administration.
Elections also were held in Bel
lingham, Aberdeen, Bremerton,
Port Angeles' and Renton, as well
as 14 third class cities and 172
towns.
Mayor Devin Unseated
Approximately 155,000 votes a
record high for a municipal elec
tionwere cast in Seattle, where
William F. Devin was unseated
after 10 years as mayor.
Complete unofficial returns gave
the office to Allen Pomeroy, 45-year-old
attorney who was Devin's
unsuccessful opponent in the may
oralty race four years ago. Pome
roy polled 78,602 votes to 75,202 for
Devin. Some 3,000 absentee ballots
remained to be counted but there
NOW!
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DIAL 3-5 377
nnDDi'DDDDD'D,
OVERCROWDED JAIL is routine to the city police foce.
On the night this picture was token, 1 1 prisoners " ere
lodged in the jail originally built to hold five. Extra prison
ers are placed on top of cell block and on cots in front of
LACK OF BEDDING at city (ail Is Illustrated by prisoner In
picture at left who sandwiches himself between two mot-
was little chance they would
chance the result.
Police Chief George Eastman
was an incidental election casualty.
Eastman, a Devin appointee, an-
nounced he will resign when Pome-
rov takes office in June. During the
campaign Pomeroy promised he
would fire Eastman if elected.
Bond Issue Carries
Seattle voters reelected four In
cumbent city councilmcn but turn
ed thumbs down on fluoridation of
the city's water supply. They also
approved an eight million dollar
school bond issue but a 1 Mi mil
lion dollar library bond issue ap
parently lost because it lacked the
required 60 per cent majority.
In Tacoma's heated race for pub
lic safety commissioner, William
Farrar, a retired police captain
lialfl a haitar than turn-fn-nno mar
gin over Robert S. Tcmme, onetime
salcty commissioner wno once re
lieved Farrar as police chief.
State T-B Hospital
Enlargement Planned
SALEM Wl The State Board!'
of Control announced Tuesday it
would call for bids in two or throe
weeks on a ?7)D.0OO addition lo
the Slate Tuberculosis Hospital in
Salem.
The project includes a $2ii4,000
employes dormitory and a $155,000
addition to the hospital's main
Building.
NOTICE
WE WILL BE CLOSED FROM 2:00 P.M.,
FRIDA?, MARCH 14th, UNTIL 7:00
A.M., SATURDAY, MARCH 15th.
UMPQUA HOTEL
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COMPLAINT is received by phone by Sgt. Harry Clemons, sitting before department's
radio transmitter. Patrolmen Carl Smith and John Brennan check back records on inves
igation. At upper left hangs the department's only night stick.
COFFEE SHOP
cell block. Record for city jail is 31 prisoners. Saturday
nights usually see large number of prisoners, most of whom
bail out by Sunday noon. (Staff pictures)
resses while prisoner at right
him warm.
JOBLESS FUND UPPEO
SALEM Wl T.ie Oregon Un
employment Compensation Com
mission's reserve fund gained $2,-
J h 1 Ul Mil I 1
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JOHN'S CURVE
3 Milet North of Myrtle Creek on Hiahwov 99
C3 125 f
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has only burlap sacks to keep
200,000 the past year, despite high
er benefit payments.
The fund now totals 7 million
dollars.
IN PEBSOM
ALVINO REY
AND HIS ORCHESTRA
MARCH 15
Saturday Night
v ri sji f
202 NORTH JACKSON
PHONE 3-6628
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