Josephine County Sheriff's Office will increase service hours

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office will be nearly doubling their patrol hours next year.

In an announcement made on social media, Sheriff Dave Daniel said their hours of service will be increasing from 12 hours to 20 beginning in January.

He explained they’ve been hiring new deputies behind-the-scenes for the last two years.

Sheriff Daniel said previously, Oregon State Police troopers have been helping cover the hours when deputies aren’t around. With the new hires, OSP can get back to enforcing laws on state highways. They’ll still be helping out with dispatching services, but the county is working to hire more dispatchers so they can cover the increased hours.

Sheriff Daniel explained that while deputies will be out more, they’ll be spread a little bit more thin, which may increase response times. He also said this is not where service levels should be. While the ultimate goal is 24 hours, this is a step in the right direction.

According to the sheriff, he’ll continue to search for more funding and he thanked the citizens of Josephine County for their support.