BEND, OR -- Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel is hoping to get the community’s input on crime on public safety. He launched a new community survey, this month, as part of his ongoing DeschutesSafe program.
Hummel says eventually the data will be used to better focus crime prevention efforts. "I don’t want a hear DA tell me that their job is just to prosecute. A DA’s job is to keep a community safe. And, one way you do it is to prosecute, but another way you do it is to prevent crime in the first place. So, DeschutesSafe is my effort to work to prevent crime. We’re prosecuting everyday; that’s not going to stop. DeschutesSafe is in addition to our prosecution work."
He says narrowing the focus of prevention efforts is important. "There’s limited resources in our community. Of course, we could say ‘let’s raise everyone’s taxes 200% and we could have the greatest crime prevention program in the world; that’s not possible. So, with our existing resources, if we’re going to focus on preventing certain crimes, we have more of a chance of being successful. If you try to prevent every single crime, you’re probably going to fail. But, if you target your efforts, you’re more likely to be successful."
The survey takes several minutes to complete. "We’re asking what the major crime concerns are for you," says Hummel. "Is it traffic, is it drugs, is it assault, is it car theft? And, also – this is important – what solutions do you think should be employed? Should we be tougher on crime? Should we be smarter on crime? Should there be more treatment? Should there be more treatment? Should we have longer jail sentences? Should we have more enforcement?"
Click HERE to access the survey.
Hummel says the results will be revealed at a series of public meetings:
- Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the La Pine Library (16425 1st St.) at 6 pm.
- Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Redmond Fire House (341 NW Dogwood Ave.) at 6 pm.
- Saturday, Nov. 19, at East Bend Library (62080 Dean Swift Rd.) at 11:30 am.
- Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Downtown Bend Library (601 NW Wall St.) at 6 pm.
