Fewer patrols by state police appear certain

Fewer patrols by state police appear certain
Fewer patrols by state police appear certain
Extra money for detectives and increases elsewhere would trim the troopers' already thin ranks
Friday, July 15, 2005
MICHELLE COLE

SALEM -- More than 800 Portland-area motorists used their cell phones in June to alert Oregon State Police dispatchers about reckless, speeding or possibly drunken drivers. Records show more than half the time, no troopers were available to respond.

That situation stands to worsen over the next two years. Despite the Legislature's proposed $14 million increase in the 2005-07 state police budget, plans call for cutting the number of troopers by 20."