Community Safety
Lane Council of Governments’ Community Safety staff continued to support the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) in an effort to analyze and implement improvements in the community safety system in Lane County. As a regional advisory council with a multi-faceted charge pertaining to Lane County crime and safety, the PSCC ensures that every effort is made to effectively use resources to prevent and reduce crime and to increase the sense of safety within Lane County communities. This year LCOG staff provided:
- Support for PSCC, PSCC committees, and associate committees;
- Strategic planning services;
- Research and evaluation services;
- Analysis regarding co-location, merging, or closer coordination of police services; and
- Facilitation to help PSCC review integration of the adult corrections system.
The PSCC, with
support from LCOG staff:
-
Coordinated
and facilitated access to 11 national videoconferences related to prevention
of crime and adult and juvenile corrections, treatment, and services;
- Conducted an assessment of programs funded with Community Corrections funds received from the State of Oregon;
- Conducted an organizational analysis of the parole and probation system in Lane County;
- Began a Decision Point Population Analysis of the adult criminal justice system in Lane County to study key decision points in the system, how they affect the flow of arrestees and offenders, and the impact they have on system resources and capacity;
Completed
a report on Public Safety Answering Points (9-1-1) in Lane County; - Wrote grant applications for partner agencies and collaborations; these brought approximately $7.5 million to Lane County for rural safe schools, a new Child Advocacy Center for abused children, and a dynamic computer simulation model of the criminal justice system, among others;
- Conducted research, analyses, and evaluations on segments of the community safety system including failure of defendants to appear for court, risk factors for high-risk youth behaviors, a diversion program for people with serious and chronic mental illness and substance abuse addiction from jail into treatment, an intensive treatment program in the jail for felons who are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and the urban Safe Schools Project;
- Continued development of the Risk Assessment Program, a secure internet application to allow criminal justice agencies to view and share inmate and offender information; and
- Began development of the Right Route project, using on-board computers to provide first responders such as ambulances and fire trucks access within their vehicles to receive accurate directions to an emergency.
In addition, LCOG provided staff support for several related community safety plans including the Lane County Community Corrections Plan, Juvenile Crime Prevention Plan, Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Plan, Mental Health Plan, and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Plan.