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In January 2007, the Medford Police Department began functioning with a team concept. The Medford Police Department deploys 7 patrol teams each working a specific shift. Each team is staffed with a Sergeant, Corporal and 6-7 patrol officers. These teams work together for a period of one year and become a cohesive unit, responding to a variety of calls within the City.
Beginning September 2014, the Medford Police Department revised its beat system to include five distinct beats and included two additional "cover beats". The beats were revised with the anticipation that it will increase response time to in-progress calls while upholding the desire for officers to work proactively on solving issues within their assigned beats.
The expectation is that each beat will have officers who remain in these beats unless called off. These officers will proactively work on problem solving projects in these beats. The knowledge and trust gained by these officers with citizens in these beats will result in better service and continued improvement in our quality of life.
- The team approach encourages teamwork, stability in beat problem-solving, and camaraderie.
- Less experienced officers have the benefit of working with the same supervisor and/or the same group of experienced officers. This allows for career development.
- The "span of control" for supervision is at a level of 7-8 individuals.
- Officers get to know their beats, the unique circumstances for their watch, and can provide better service to our citizens.
As this team concept is implemented, officers will also be assigned permanent beat assignments as often as possible. Each officer will also have a particular section of the city as their on-going project area.
As the concept of beat ownership evolves, officers will be increasing their utilization of Neighborhood Watch, and other localized groups and associations as a patrol resource.
Medford Police Patrol Officers continue to be the "backbone" of the department. They are the individuals that the public comes in contact with, and the ones responsible for the delivery of service. From responding to 911 calls to traffic enforcement, and the investigation of criminal activity, patrol officer are out there 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
The Patrol Division also operates a traffic enforcement team consisting of four officers on police motorcycles and a traffic sergeant. The goal for the traffic team is to reduce the number of motor vehicle collisions by enforcing traffic laws, investigating motor vehicle collisions, use of photo enforcement and networking with the city's traffic engineering division.
Monthly, the police department broadcasts a television show on RVTV public television called "Your Police - Our Community". The hour long show covers the different aspects of law enforcement and is widely viewed. The taped show is re-broadcasted several times during the month.
This community can be very proud of the work performed by the officers of the Medford Police Department. In 2014, MPD responded to over 91,000 calls for service requiring 26,000 reports resulting in over 10,000 arrests. Our desire is to provide the citizens of Medford with the highest quality of service while striving for continuous improvement in our chosen profession - law enforcement.
Contact: Lt Darrell Graham 541-774-2207 or Lt Trevor Arnold 541-774-2272