The Morrow County Sheriff’s Office has contracted with the city of Irrigon for 18 years to provide police services, code enforcement and animal control. It has been a pleasure serving the citizens of Irrigon and by working together, over the years we have seen a lot of improvements in reduced crime and improved livability in the city. The City of Irrigon has chosen to terminate the law enforcement contract as of July 01, 2022 and will start their own Police Department.
The Sheriff’s Office priority is safety, security and livability for all morrow county residents and visitors. In each of the 36 counties in Oregon, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer. Their primary duty is to give full police protection to the unincorporated areas of the county. However, they maintain full police jurisdiction in all municipalities.
So, what does this mean?
This means the sheriff and his deputies can enforce state laws in any city in the county. If a city has their own police, the sheriff and his deputies can assist the city police when needed, but the city police is the primary in their city. If the city police are off duty and an emergency call is reported, they should be called out as the primary law enforcement in the city and may be assisted by county deputies.
If a city doesn’t have a police force then the sheriff or deputies will respond to person crimes and in progress crimes as resources allow.
Sheriff Kenneth Matlack Undersheriff John A. Bowles