JCSO Weekly Update - Operations Bureau

            Today our fellow law enforcement officer, Sergeant Jason Goodding of the Seaside Police Department, is laid to rest.  He was killed one week ago in the line of duty while trying to make what seemed like a routine arrest.  However, things went terribly wrong when the suspect, who had dozens of arrests in his past, pulled out a firearm and shot Sergeant Goodding. 

This tragedy was a somber reminder of how quickly life can be snatched from us and how we sometimes take it for granted.  Sergeant Goodding paid the ultimate price to serve his community and the sacrifice he and his family have given won’t be forgotten. 

            On a less somber note, I’d like to introduce you to the Operations Bureau at JCSO.  It consists of the Patrol Division, the Traffic Team, K-9, SWAT, contract cities, the White City Enhanced Law Enforcement District, and Community Service Deputies.  We serve approximately 74,000 residents in the 2800 square miles of unincorporated area in Jackson County.  Currently we have 30 deputies and 2 Community Service Officers/Deputies to fulfill the above roles but hope to increase those numbers in the future. 

In 2015, your deputies handled more than 51,000 calls for service.  These calls included responding to 911 calls, investigating crimes, making traffic stops, serving subpoenas, checking businesses, and many others.  This number is up about 2.7 percent from the previous year.  While an increase of 2.7 percent doesn’t seem like much, we responded to more than 7,500 “Priority 1” calls, which are the most serious and emergent calls.  This is an increase of more than 20 percent from 2014.  Your deputies accomplished this while facing some of the most significant staffing deficits we have had in recent years.  This is a testament to the dedication of the men and women of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

            For 2016, we are implementing a professional policing strategy that will enhance our ability to identify and solve problems in Jackson County.  The policing strategy is called the Stratified Model of Policing.  It basically incorporates aspects of Problem Oriented Policing, Hot Spot Policing and Compstat Policing.  This strategy will provide us with tools to help ensure we are providing the best level of service we can with the resources we have allocated to us.  To further our focus on transparency and safety, we plan to provide body worn cameras for our deputies. 

            Also this year, we will continue looking for innovative ways to recruit and retain quality employees.  Staffing is a challenge faced by many police departments and sheriff’s offices.  In order to solve problems in the community, we need to have enough employees to do the work safely.   Next month, I will talk more specifically about staffing the patrol division and about some of the incidents we have responded to so far in 2016.  Thank you for your continued support.

Captain Nathan Sickler

You can read more on the Stratified Model and other examples of policing in A Police Organizational Model for Crime Reduction: Institutionalizing Problem Solving, Analysis and Accountability.