Traffic/Parking Enforcement
The Pendleton Police Department unfortunately does not have the staff to have a specific traffic safety unit. Therefore, all officers enforce traffic laws and investigate crashes. The Pendleton Police Department’s philosophy on the enforcement of traffic laws is to try and educate the motoring public. If the officer’s do not feel a verbal or written warning is sufficient to gain compliance then the appropriate citation will be written.
We provide education and information to the community at neighborhood meetings, neighborhood watch meetings, schools and civic organizations. We regularly conduct presentations for elderly drivers programs and driver education classes for youth.
We are implementing the use of a traffic monitoring device that records vehicle speeds, numbers and flows of traffic. We are then analyzing that information along with traffic crash data and citizen complaints to best utilize our manpower in the enforcement of traffic laws. We also actively work with the City Engineering Department, Public Works and the Oregon Department of Transportation to develop strategies and enforcement techniques to help ensure public safety on roadways.
We have one part time parking enforcement employee who is dedicated to enforcing the downtown 2-hour parking ordinance. The 2-hour parking limits are specifically in the Pendleton downtown area from the Umatilla River south to the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks in the 500 South Main Street and from SE 2nd Street to SW 2nd Street.
The Pendleton Police Department conducts special enforcement operations related to speed enforcement, pedestrian safety, seat belt use and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and construction zone enforcement. We participate in several grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation that allows us to pay for overtime enforcement and new equipment.
We have two officers who have received specialized training and are Drug Recognition Experts. We have one certified Crash/Crime Scene Re-constructionist and our currently without a Motor Officer. We are planning on getting officers to the specialized schools for Motors. The Wildhorse Foundation graciously awarded over $7000.00 dollars to purchase state of the art software that allows our Crash/Crime Scene re-constructionist to document scenes in detail including animation. One of our officers is specially trained as an instructor for various traffic and DUII areas.