Item 3: Ordinance on Citation Authority of UO DPS

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Public Hearing: An Ordinance Concerning Citation Authority of University of Oregon Department of Public Safety and Amending Section 4.035 of the Eugene Code, 1971 Meeting Date: October 19, 2009 Agenda Item Number: 3 Department: Police Staff Contact: A/Captain Richard Stronach www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5252 ISSUE STATEMENT This is a public hearing on amendments to Eugene Code 4.035, which provides citation authority to University of Oregon Department of Public Safety officers to enforce sections of the Eugene Code. The amendments would permit Department of Public Safety officers to cite individuals for misdemeanors. BACKGROUND In 2003, the Eugene City Council adopted EC 4.035, which permits University of Oregon’s Department of Public Safety (UO/DPS) officers to issue citations for offenses of the Eugene Code (EC) punishable as a violation when those crimes occurred on UO property in the presence of the public safety officer. This eliminated the need for a Eugene police officer to respond every time a UO/DPS officer witnessed the applicable violations. (“Violations” were defined in EC 4.035 as “an act made unlawful by the code that is punishable by a fine but not punishable to a term of imprisonment.”) This process has worked well over the last six years. Attachment C provides a summary of the citations issued by UO/DPS for the violations currently defined in the City Code. Today, UO/DPS conducts a considerable number of investigations where the involved violation is a misdemeanor crime, thus requiring a Eugene police officer to respond and issue a citation to the offender. Misdemeanors are crimes, not simply violations and persons convicted can potentially be sentenced to jail time as well as pay fines. In these cases, UO/DPS prepares a report documenting the elements of the crime, and the involvement of the Eugene police officer is most often to simply issue the citation. Over the last year, the Eugene Police Department (EPD) has worked with UO/DPS to identify efficiencies in our service delivery systems. As a result of these efforts, EPD believes an amendment to the EC 4.035 permitting UO/DPS officers to issue citations for misdemeanor crimes contained in the Code would be an important step toward streamlining services and improving Eugene’s organizational efficiency. Attachment C provides data regarding the number of citations issued in past years by EPD on UO property for offenses that would meet the criteria of this change to 4.035 of the Eugene Code. Beginning this fall, the University has reduced the Campus Unit contract with EPD from three police officer positions to one remaining officer. Responsibilities for this officer do not include call response as the primary job function; instead that position will focus on follow-up investigations. By providing UO/DPS officers the authority to issue citations for other crimes, EPD police officers will be freed from Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M091019\S0910193.doc