Item 7: Ordinance on Citation Authority of UO Dept of Public Safety

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Action: Adoption of 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: November 9, 2009 Agenda Item Number: 7 Department: Eugene Police Department Staff Contact: A/Captain Richard Stronach www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5252 ISSUE STATEMENT This is an opportunity for the City Council to take action 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 item is before the council so that University public safety officers commissioned under ORS 352.385 can issue citations found in the Eugene Code that will be directed to the Eugene Municipal Court. UO/DPS officers already have authority to issue certain citations under provisions of the Oregon Revised Statutes and Oregon Administrative Rules, but Eugene must grant authority before citations can be issued for offenses included in the Eugene 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. 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 assisting UO/DPS officers with essentially a clerical function. This will make Eugene’s officers available for calls for service elsewhere in the city. The ability to issue citations for these crimes will Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M091109\S0911097.doc