A small Southern Oregon town plans to beef up its diminished police presence by installing a number of security cameras that a group of vigilant volunteers will monitor.
Cave Junction’s mayor and city council recently approved the public safety proposal and are now awaiting final authorization from Josephine County, which would provide the bulk of the project’s funding, City Recorder Rebecca Patton told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday.
Declining timber revenues in the county and other swaths of rural Oregon have triggered dramatic budget cuts in recent years, including sweeping reductions to local law enforcement agencies. Voters, meanwhile, have repeatedly rejected ballot measures that would increase taxes to fund police.
Sheriff’s deputies currently patrol Cave Junction, a town of 2,000 about 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass, only during the day Monday through Friday. For several years the town has relied on a volunteer watch group, CJ Patrol, to help thwart crime at night.