Local law enforcement are maintaining regular patrols in Baker City and Baker County during the coronavirus crisis.

Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby has shelved for now his plan to resume 24-hour patrols.

The department stopped patrolling between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. daily on Dec. 1, 2023. Duby said the reason wasn’t a shortage of money for his department, but rather vacancies that he couldn’t fill at the time.

Duby said he had hoped to reinstate 24-hour patrols after the school year ended in early June.

But with one officer having left to join Oregon State Police, and another officer on personal leave, that plan is not feasible now, Duby said on June 20.

“We thought we could get there,” he said.

The department doesn’t have any vacancies, but it’s still short-handed because the three newest officers won’t be able to start patrolling until late this year, Duby said.

Those three officers have to complete training at the state academy in Salem, a 16-week course.

One of the new officers graduates in late July, Duby said. The second will finish about a month later, and the third in September.

Duby said that earlier this year it looked as though the department would have just two officers needing to attend the academy.

But then a current officer moved to OSP, and the city filled that vacancy with an officer who has to attend the academy.

With another current officer on leave, the department can’t resume 24-hour patrols without incurring significant overtime, one of the reasons Duby discontinued the around-the-clock patrols late last year.

When the three new officers complete their academy training and another two to four months of work in Baker City under the supervision of a field training officer, and if the department doesn’t lose other officers in the meantime, Duby said he will reassess staffing and potentially reinstate 24-hour patrols.

Although police aren’t patrolling during that 5-hour period early in the morning, Duby said a police supervisor is available during that time to answer calls from the 911 dispatch center.

Depending on the

nature of the call, the supervisor will respond and, potentially, call in off-duty officers.

Duby said that has rarely been necessary, as most of the dispatch calls between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. don’t involve immediate threats to the public that require an officer to respond.