18
S moke S ignals
april 1, 2014
How to report a crime in Grand Ronde
By Al LaChance
Grand Ronde Police Chief
I’d like to keep Tribal employees and the general population of Grand
Ronde informed on the proper procedures for reporting, and understand-
ing the differences between, crimes in progress, situations that require
immediate assistance and crimes that have already occurred.
What constitutes witnessing a crime in prog-
ress?
A crime in progress can include (but is not
limited to):
• A fight;
• A domestic disturbance;
• Drug use or possession;
• Harassment;
• Trespassing;
• Assault;
• Any property crime or other crime that is cur-
rently happening that you are witnessing;
• Any situation in which the health or safety of
a person is currently in jeopardy.
Al LaChance
What constitutes a situation that requires immediate assistance?
Situations that require immediate attention can include (but are not
limited to):
• Fire;
• Traffic accident;
• Road hazard;
• Mental welfare check;
• Runaway juvenile;
• Any situation that is occurring right now where police, fire or medical
services are needed.
What are examples of crimes that already occurred?
Crimes that already occurred may be something such as:
• You were assaulted earlier, the person has left, you are not injured, no
one is currently in danger and you want to file a report;
• Your car was broken into or damaged earlier, you didn’t see who did it
and you want to file a report;
• You lost your purse a week ago and your credit card was used;
• Property was vandalized or stolen earlier and you want to file a re-
port;
• Any situation or crime that occurred in the past in which the health or
safety of a person is not currently in jeopardy.
Over the last few months, there have been some changes in our coverage
with Polk County:
• Two of the contracted deputies have been out on indefinite medical
leave and have not been replaced by the county (one day shift and one
night shift);
• As of March 11, a third deputy retired and as yet has not been replaced
(our last remaining day shift deputy);
• This leaves just one Polk County deputy, who works three nights on,
three nights off, on the graveyard shift.
Our staffing at Grand Ronde is limited as well right now.
Officer Patrick McConnell is attending a nine-week K9 Academy in Arizo-
na, Sgt. Jake McKnight works the day shift Sunday through Wednesday and
Officer Ron Wellborn works the night shift on Saturday through Tuesday.
This means that during the week, there are two officers on day shift
Monday through Wednesday (myself and Sgt. McKnight) and only one
officer Thursday and Friday (me).
Unfortunately, I am often required to attend various meetings, both here
on the Tribal campus and in Dallas and Salem, so I am not always working
patrol and therefore not always available to respond to calls as quickly as
I’d like. Additionally, part of being a police officer requires annual manda-
tory training in various areas, so the officers and sergeant, at some points
during the year, will be out of town attending these trainings.
We hope that Polk County will soon be able to replace the two day shift
deputies who aren’t here, but even still, as of July the contract will change
and we will have less coverage.
After recruit Tyler Brown graduates from the academy, and when Officer
McConnell returns from Arizona, our coverage will be greater and we will
be able to respond to more calls.
Until then, here’s how you can help.
If you need to report a crime in progress or a situation that requires
immediate police, fire or medical service, please call 911.
If you need to report a crime that occurred in the past, or a situation
that does not require immediate police, fire or medical services, call the
non-emergency dispatch number at 503-879-2123. Or, if you are more
comfortable doing so, you can call the office directly at 503-879-1821 or
call any of the officers directly.
If you are unsure what you need to report is or is not an emergency,
please call 911.
Why call 911 or non-emergency dispatch to report a crime in progress?
Why shouldn’t I just call the police station directly?
There are several reasons why it is better to call 911 or the non-emer-
gency line when you need to make a report:
• If there isn’t anyone at the station to answer the phone, you could be los-
ing valuable time while waiting for us to answer. Mindy Lane is the only
staff person at the department, and though she works Monday through
Friday, she is often required to travel to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office,
the District Attorney’s Office, Independence Police and attend meetings
and trainings outside of Grand Ronde.
• If department staff does answer the phone, we have to gather the per-
tinent information and then call it in to dispatch ourselves, thus losing
valuable time, and oftentimes Dispatch will ask for information that
we don’t know because we are making a report based on third-party
information.
• If department staff is available to answer the phone that doesn’t guar-
antee that a Grand Ronde officer is available to take the call.
• The 911 and non-emergency Dispatch Center has access to contact all
surrounding agency officers and deputies in the area. Thus, if they see
that no Grand Ronde officers are on duty or available, they have the
ability to reach out to Polk County, Yamhill County, Oregon State Po-
lice and a variety of surrounding agencies to assess whether they are
available to take the call. Our department does not have the means or
capability of doing that.
Thank you to everyone for your attention to the happenings around
Grand Ronde. Your diligence is key to helping maintain a safe and healthy
environment to live and work in.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns about these protocols,
feel free to give me a call at 503-879-2444. n