LA GRANDE, Ore. (AP) — The shorthanded Oregon State Police are struggling to deal with a trooper shortfall that has left them unable to respond to calls for service in some areas.
The state police thought they would get their full complement of troopers when they returned to round-the-clock patrols in 2007. But the Great Recession put a stop to those plans, and a bill that would have tied the trooper funding to the state gas tax died in the Legislature this year.
The Oregonian reports the state police told callers about 40 times a day that it had no troopers to respond to accidents, crimes or dangerous driving last year.
Only four patrol offices have reached the staffing necessary for 24/7 coverage, and that doesn’t account for vacations and other absences.
