Tigard Police honor staff and report theft, vandalism remain elevated; self-initiated stops rise 20%

Tigard Police Chief McDonald used the council meeting to recognize department personnel for 2024 and to review department trends, saying theft and vandalism continued to be the most persistent crimes while self-initiated police work increased.

Chief McDonald presented the department’s annual awards, naming Shelley Wert and Michelle Hellstrom the 2024 professional support staff of the year, Sergeant Chris Haines the 2024 supervisor of the year, and Officer Eric Enzenberger the 2024 officer of the year. “Their work has been relied upon during these times of transition and short staffing,” McDonald said of Wert and Hellstrom. The mayor and council congratulated the honorees.

On monthly and year-to-date statistics, McDonald said theft and vandalism “are still very high” and that those incidents are geographically widespread rather than concentrated in a single neighborhood. He noted dispatch calls for service were up roughly 2 percent for the year, while officers’ self-initiated activity rose about 20 percent from the prior year. “That makes a rather large impact on what we’ve been able to do,” he said, adding much of the self-initiated work is traffic enforcement.

Council members asked whether the rise in self-initiated work could be attributed to particular issues; McDonald said traffic stops accounted for the largest share and that officers also devote self-initiated time to outreach and contacts with people experiencing homelessness. The police heat map shown to council identified retail corridors and the Washington Square area, the city hall block (where people report matters in person), and the high school area (where the school resource officer generates calls) as the locations with highest counts.

Councilor Jake Schlack noted the department’s reporting changes in 2024, including a revised definition for organized retail theft that contributed to some increases in reported counts. McDonald and councilors discussed the role of photo-enforcement and the timing of vendor transitions that can affect fine collections. McDonald reiterated the department’s intention to continue proactive patrol work as staffing allows.

The awards program and dashboard review were presented for council recognition and situational awareness; no formal policy changes or budget actions were taken during that portion of the meeting.