The Douglas County District Attorney's Office will be conducting a press conference today at 4:00 PM at the Roseburg Police Department regarding the Nicole Engler Investigation.
The Douglas County Major Crimes team investigated the death of one year old Remington Engler on 06-21-18. The purpose of this conference is to update the public on the investigation.
The Roseburg Police Department participated in focused DUII enforcement patrols throughout the year thanks to a grant obtained from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Impact. During the month of September the Roseburg Police Department arrested 16 people for suspicion of driving a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two. Grants such as this one provide our Officers with the ability to focus on problems they wouldn't necessarily be able to focus on during normal patrol.
We recently received word via Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden that the City of Roseburg has been awarded a $750,000 federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant to launch a mobile crisis program in collaboration with Adapt/Compass to co-respond to police calls involving individuals with a mental illness. Roseburg Police Chief Gary Klopfenstein was excited when he received news of the grant, advising, “What an amazing opportunity for our community. This will enable us to form a Crisis Intervention Team that will bring an enhanced level of service to the doorsteps of those who really need it.”
This BJA Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program Grant Award is the result of cooperation and collaboration between the City of Roseburg, Adapt/Compass and the Douglas County Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC). Adapt CEO Doctor Gregory Brigham said, “This grant will provide vital resources to support the already strong collaboration between Adapt and the City of Roseburg to provide behavioral health support and intervention to those in crisis. This collaboration improves the safety of our community and saves vital police and emergency room resources by providing the right response at a critical time.”
Under the grant, Compass Behavioral Health will hire two Qualified Mental Health Professionals who will be available to co-respond with police 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in and around the City of Roseburg. These mental health workers will connect individuals to treatment and divert them from the criminal justice system when appropriate.
Senator Wyden said, “A humane and comprehensive approach to mental health challenges in communities throughout Oregon requires real resources that make a difference for people in crisis and those who are trying to help. This grant improving public safety responders’ ability in Roseburg to assist people with mental health issues is both a plus for the entire community and an innovative approach that other communities can emulate.”
Senator Merkley stated, “Local law enforcement agencies are more and more frequently becoming first responders to mental health crises, yet often aren't equipped for that role. This grant will provide Roseburg Police with a support system to ensure people going through mental health crises will be connected to services that could help them, rather than resorting to law enforcement resources. This is a wise use of resources and should be a model for our entire criminal justice system.”
Nationwide, individuals with serious mental illness are booked into jail approximately 2 million times per year. A recent survey by the LPSCC’s Behavioral Health Subcommittee and the Douglas County Jail found that approximately 36 percent of inmates booked into our local Jail may have a serious mental illness.
In January, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners passed a Stepping Up Resolution to reduce the number of people with mental illness in the Douglas County Jail. This BJA grant award marks a significant step toward that goal and a strengthening of public safety/behavioral health collaboration in Roseburg and Douglas County.