City of North Bend release – The City of North Bend has assigned Shane Dunning as its Community Resource Officer (CRO), thanks to a U.S. Department of Justice grant. CRO Dunning will work primarily with our homeless population to help them find resources to locate permanent housing and gain stability. Homelessness is a critical issue impacting multiple sectors of the North Bend community. To address this concern, the City of North Bend Police Department is expanding its current force by creating a Community Resource Officer (CRO) position that will provide outreach to homeless individuals and families to connect them to community resource partners. “The mission of the CRO will be to engage community organizations, residents, homeowners, and business owners by building trust in a community-based process that works to reduce homelessness for individuals and families in North Bend,” Police Chief Gary McCullough said. “The CRO will engage in community-policing efforts to address the underlying causes of homelessness and lessen the negative impact of homelessness on individuals, families, and the community.” The U.S. Department of Justice awarded North Bend $125,000 in grant funding through the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). North Bend is one of five Oregon law enforcement agencies to receive direct funding. “The catalyst for the funding for our Community Resource Officer was North Bend’s congressional delegation,” said Mayor Jessica Engelke. “North Bend becomes an even safer place thanks to the advocacy of Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio, who helped secure the funding.” CHP is a competitive award program intended to reduce crime and advance public safety through community policing. CHP directly funds law enforcement agencies to enhance their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Of the 180 agencies awarded grants, nearly half will use the funding to focus on building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 30 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 26 will focus on other areas of violence, and 28 will focus CHP resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based responses to persons in crisis.
