In the attached flyer is an opportunity to speak out about the situation under the Marys River bridge. It’s easy and can be done from the privacy and safety of your home. All you have to do is email in a question. No muss, no fuss. Why not sign up now?
- Many of us in the community are very aware of the ongoing brazen criminal bicycle theft ring that is operating in broad daylight right in the middle of town (NOT South Corvallis, please).
- We are sick of seeing this matter go unaddressed, and seeing chronic violations of the law go unenforced.
- We are in the process of forming an ad hoc community group to bring this matter to the attention of City authorities and to make sure that swift and effective action is taken to eliminate this problem from our community.
- We recognize that there are other issues in this same location, and that it is a complex situation. The focus of our group is on the bicycle crimes only; others may wish to take on the rest of the unresolved matters.
- We would like to see our concerns met with immediate enforcement action, but if that does not happen we will be back with larger numbers to pursue this issue until it is resolved.
As some background, it is my understanding from a reliable source that the CPD is currently working with a skeleton crew of five officers, and they are waiting until new recruits come on line. But new officers can’t work solo for a year, so it will be a long time before we have a police force that is capable of dealing with crime.
Go have a look at all the patrol cars that are parked outside the police station rather than being out on patrol. They’re sitting there day and night because they don’t have anyone to operate them. I had been wondering about this, and now I understand.
At present, and apparently due in large part to the lack of adequate space in the antiquated Corvallis jail, criminals are released without being punished. I really don’t see why they can’t solve that problem, and I think we should address this in addition to the chop shop situation, because they are closely related.
By the way, getting a new jail has been a priority for a long time, and it has been rejected by the voters twice. Even if the latest attempt at a bond measure were to pass, it will take several years for the new facility to be designed, build, and placed in operation. Are we really supposed to tolerate complete license for criminals to do what they want in the meantime just because there’s inadequate jail space for arrestees? That’s pretty insane. And I don’t think that people really understand just how precarious this situation is. Did you know?
Bottom line? The cops aren’t going to do anything about the chop shop or anything else under the bridge, claiming their hands are tied. We need to tell them to get their act together and figure out how to have some decent law enforcement in Corvallis. They need to try harder! (What about partnering with other law enforcement agencies for special operations like cleaning up this bike theft ring? What about incarcerating arrestees in other jails in the area? What is the problem with charging people with crimes and warning them they will be in even bigger trouble if they don’t show up for their court date? Look, I don’t know anything about police work, so I’m just asking questions and not opinionating. I really want to understand why we have such dangerously inadequate protection in this town, and what can be done about it…now, not a year or more from now.)
Aside from the chop shop problem, imagine what would happen if we had a real emergency and virtually no police force to help out. Or if you personally had someone breaking into your house and there were no cops to do anything about it. I guess you’d do better calling your friend the karate instructor to see if he could pop by for a minute, or maybe you could call a manicurist or a tuba player or…well, you get my drift.
I’m really glad that we don’t have a racist or brutal police force in Corvallis. But having an inadequate one makes me deeply concerned. I understand that they are having problems, and I am not at all suggesting that we adopt a hostile or adversarial tone. Let’s encourage them, with a little appropriate pressure so that they know we truly want some action.
This is way out of character for me. I hate to sound like a moss-backed law-and-order conservative, but what I have learned in the past couple of weeks has pushed this old hippie’s buttons, and I’m really worried about the situation. Please make a contribution to public safety by sending something in to be addressed at this forum. All the information you need is in the flyer below. To make it even easier, here (from the attached flyer) is how to send in your questions:
