BEND, OR -- Bend roads are already starting to see extra congestion as more road construction projects get underway and summer tourists start to arrive. Sheila Miller, with Bend Police, says it’s the department’s busiest season, "Last year, from May through August, we averaged about 7200 calls for service each month, which averages to about 240 calls for service a day. And then, all those other months January through April, September through December, our call load was about 6100 calls for service each month, which is about 203 calls a day." That’s about 18% more calls each day.
Miller tells KBND News, "Some of our issues come from consumption of alcohol in our community. And, in the summer, it’s nice out, there’s lots of visitors, there might be bachelor and bachelorette parties; we do see a lot of things that are associated with alcohol." That includes a rise in Driving Under the Influence calls in the summer. So far this year, Bend PD has made more than 220 DUI arrests, and Miller expects that rate to increase over the next few months.
Distracted driving is also an issue. "This is a really good time of year, because there are so many more pedestrians and bikes out on the road; if that’s what it takes, knowing that there’s lots of kids out," says Miller. She asks that drivers also practice patience on crowded roads to prevent making things worse, "When you get in a crash, it affects everybody else around you, it makes the traffic worse, cops have to respond to that, that's another call for service that gets added to the day."
Miller asks everyone to be patient with each other and officers, "Our staffing doesn’t change just because we see a huge uptick in tourists. So, we have the same number of police officers on patrol whether it’s a February evening or a hot night in August." That means officers will frequently put low-priority calls on the back-burner, "If you are calling about your car that got broken into overnight, or you’re calling about a lost wallet or a dog barking, those are things that are going to take longer for officers or community service officers to respond to."