Medford police ‘Livability Unit’ rolls out
by Nick Morgan of the Mail Tribune, September 26, 2019
Medford OR -- Medford’s newest remedy for curbing vagrancy problems along the Bear Creek Greenway is similar to medicine police have tried for years — albeit in a more consistent dose.
Last week, the Medford Police Department’s new “Livability Unit” hit the Greenway for the first time, bringing regular patrols to places transients tend to congregate, and using a mix of enforcement and community outreach.
The five-person unit is equipped with power-assisted Trek bikes that can reach speeds of 28 mph, as well as a Kawasaki side-by-side utility vehicle. Medford police Chief Scott Clauson said the new unit will patrol the Greenway and downtown daily looking for behavior such as reckless burning and drinking in public.
“It sets the tone that we’re not going to tolerate bad behavior,” Clauson said.
But beyond the stricter enforcement, Clauson said he hopes the new unit will help the department build “immediate connections” with homeless people that will guide them to outreach organizations and mental health and addictions recovery services in the area. In some cases community organizations such as Jackson County Mental Health, Easter Seals and Addictions Recovery Center are working right alongside the police.
It’s not an entirely new approach. Since at least the start of 2012, the nonprofit Rogue Valley Veterans & Community Outreach has ridden along with police during their monthly sweeps of homeless camps along the Greenway.
The program has helped more than 60 homeless veterans find permanent housing, according to earlier news reports.
Rogue Valley Veterans & Community Outreach will still be a part of the new program, Clauson said, but the chief hopes to bring more agencies into the fold with the new daily patrols.
Matt Vorderstrasse, development director of Rogue Retreat, said Medford police have approached the nonprofit, and “we fully anticipate that we’ll participate.”
With better rapport with homeless people, Clauson believes those partnerships with community agencies will have a stronger impact. He described a limitation he saw firsthand several years ago during one of the monthly sweeps, when Medford police worked with La Clinica to bring a Mobile Health Center.
The homeless people police encountered along the Greenway that morning were “just trying to survive,” Clauson said, and the van offering free health and dental services largely sat empty.
Clauson said he believes there would have been more takers if it had been officers’ fourth or fifth interaction with the people they encountered, rather than a first.
The new police unit consists of three officers who — unlike standard patrol officers — won’t have to answer one dispatch call after another, and can stay focused on the Greenway. A code enforcement officer and a records specialist are also on board.
The unit is funded through a $2 increase in the Medford’s monthly utility fee, which became effective July 1, plus $300,000 in marijuana tax revenue, according to earlier news reports.
It’s nestled under the police department’s former Special Services Division, now called Community Engagement, which also houses the police department’s neighborhood watch, code enforcement and minority outreach programs.
According to reports provided by Clauson, police calls for service along the Greenway — everything from suicidal subjects and welfare checks to crimes such as indecent exposure, assaults and robberies — have already surpassed 2017 numbers for the year.
There were 470 calls for service to the Greenway between Jan. 1 and Sept. 26 of this year compared to 396 for all of 2017.
There were 181 more reports in 2018 compared to 2017 — a rise of more than 45 percent. Numbers for 2017, in contrast, were only 4 calls more than in 2016.
“To me it really shows the growth in 2018,” Clauson said.
Clauson anticipates the agency will see in excess of 500 calls by the end of 2019.
Funding will also allow police to fund better record-keeping for police activity on the Greenway. In order to “establish a baseline,” Clauson said the new unit would count the number of homeless camps in Medford this week. Police will compare those numbers this time next year.
Clauson said the number of arrests and citations for criminal activity are only one metric to determine the program’s success. He hopes to use individual success stories and quantifiable referrals to community resources to document the program’s effectiveness.
An early sign of progress, according to Clauson, came during a test run of the concept in August when the police department’s school resource officers and patrol officers worked overtime patrolling the bike path and snuffed out two illegal camp fires during the height of fire season.
Clauson said he hopes the regular weekday patrols will revitalize the bike path and make it a welcoming place for bike races and other community events.
“It’s a gem in our city,” Clauson said.