Community Safety System

Keeping the Community Safe

Many people face challenges. Our compassionate community wants to keep everyone safe, while also dealing with situations that are criminal and/or life threatening.

The Community Safety System is made up of an interdependent group of City department and community pThe Community Safety System works to keep the community safe. This system is made up of interdependent City departments and community partners. Each relies on the other in different situations. 


A 3-pronged Approach

This system uses a three-pronged approach:


  1. Respond: Our priority is to respond to situations. 
  2. Resolve: We strive to resolve every situation in a way that is best for the people involved, as well as the community. 
  3. Prevent: We see many people repeatedly. We want to reduce those interactions and help people deal with their challenges. Our community partners are an integral part of that effort.


Struggling to Meet the Need

Right now, the Community Safety System is stressed:


  • In the past 5 years, 911 calls for Eugene Police have increased 21% while police and 911 staffing have remained flat.
  • Police are unable to respond to 1 out of 3 calls due to lack of patrol resources (when there is no immediate threat to life).
  • It takes officers an average of 20 more minutes to respond to these calls for service.
  • Response times for life threatening emergencies (cardiac arrest, stroke, trauma, breathing) have also increased because more people experiencing chronic conditions call EMS due to the fact that they don’t have any other options. 
  • Municipal Court cannot meet current demand. 
  • The number of youth diagnosed with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety continues to rise. 

While many creative programs have been applied to this problem to maximize resources and meet community needs, the growing demand continues to outpace capacity causing critical gaps in community safety and services.

  1. A Collaborative Approach
  2. Seeking to Improve
  3. Timeline
  4. Council Presentations / Media Coverage
  5. Community Surveys
  6. Community Outreach

The City uses a collaborative approach to connect people to social services and medical care that can help turn lives around and reduce demands on the Community Safety System. 


The City seeks to connect people with social services and medical to help turn lives around. Upramps to Outside Services


  • The City provides funding for CAHOOTS, which responds to 17% of 911 calls, freeing first responders for other calls. 
  • Community Court uses supervised community service and direct connections to social services providers to move people out of the criminal justice system – 91% of Community Court graduates have no new offenses.
  • The Eugene Police Department's Community Outreach Response Team (CORT) helps connect frequently contacted individuals with appropriate resources and services proactively. 
  • Eugene Springfield Fire utilizes Basic Life Support (BLS) to allow Advanced Life Support (ALS) to better respond to life threatening emergencies and better serve all of the needs in our growing community. 
  • The City’s Recreation department provides youth inclusion services that engage parents, school staff and other professionals in identifying the most effective strategies for a youth to be successful in programs and activities. 


These programs have demonstrated success in reducing arrests and the need for emergency services. They also rely on grants, one-time funding, or reallocating existing resources and need stable, ongoing funding to continue or expand.