ASHLAND, Or. – Several police departments in the Rogue Valley are getting money to beef up security at public events.
Ashland, Grants Pass, and Medford have been awarded a grant for anti-vehicle barriers.
They’ll be used to make sure people at outdoor events in Southern Oregon are safe.
This comes after multiple incidents of people driving vehicles into large crowds across the country.
The cities will share the equipment with other groups in Jackson and Josephine counties.
“These tools will give us a little upgrade into how we can protect the community events and how labor-intensive it is to protect community events. The security will go up and the labor involved in accomplishing that goal will go down,” Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara said.
The Ashland Police Chief said he’s been trying to get these resources in Ashland for years.
The barriers are expected to get to the region in mid-2023.
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