Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) serves the close to 700,000 residents of

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is a County Law Enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls and assists other city agencies such as

Portland Police Bureau The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officially the Portland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City ...

. The current Sheriff is Michael Reese. The cities of

Maywood Park Maywood Park was a horse racing venue located in Melrose Park, Illinois, United States, about 12 miles from downtown Chicago. It was used for harness racing. It had a capacity of 33,297 people and was built in 1946. The track was a half-mile ...

, Wood Village, Fairview, and Troutdale contract out the law enforcement services of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff is elected by popular vote, and oversees a budget of $118 million.

History

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office was established in February 1854, with William L. McMillen as the first

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

; he served until 1862. In 1960, the Sheriff's Office created the River Patrol Unit, which has grown to be the largest river patrol division in the state. In the past, as recently as the 1980s, the position was essentially the "top cop" in the county, performing law enforcement for the bulk of the county's population. , however, as the unincorporated areas of the county have diminished, 85% of sheriff's office employees work in corrections rather than law enforcement. On July 1, 2015, the Sheriff's Office began policing services for the city of Troutdale. In a 10-year agreement, the officers and civilian personnel of the Troutdale Police department were brought in as sworn deputies and employees of the Sheriff's Office. The agreement was reported to save the City of Troutdale over $900,000 per year over a ten-year period. The deal also included leasing of the Troutdale Police Community Center. The Law Enforcement patrol, property, and records divisions were also moved from the Hansen Building to this location in July, 2015. The sheriff's office oversees a budget of $118 million.

Controversy

Former Sheriff Bernie Giusto resigned on July 1, 2008 after a state police standards board recommended that he lose his badge because of multiple issues including using an official vehicle for personal use, lying about a relationship he had with former Governor

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...

's wife while he was assigned to the governor's protective service branch in the mid-1980s, and allegations that he lied about his knowledge of Goldschmidt's illegal sexual relationship with a minor in the 1970s. In addition to ethics violations, Giusto was thought to have managed the county budget poorly, and when confronted about such issues once replied with "They're not my bosses; they're my bankers, I'm not gonna debate how I do spend my budget. That's why I'm independently elected." Days after making that comment, he closed the county's restitution center, which was a program that was just created that year.

Services

Enforcement Division

Multnomah County deputy - Corbett Oregon

The Enforcement Division acts as

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...

response and patrol. The Enforcement Division primarily patrols east Multnomah County. Every law enforcement deputy working within the patrol division is a sworn armed

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. Since 1965, each enforcement deputy has been required to hold a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from an accredited college or university.

River Patrol Unit

The River Patrol Unit was founded to help decrease thefts from property on Multnomah County's waterways and to assist with

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. The unit is responsible for 100 miles of river of the Columbia, Willamette, and Sandy rivers.

Special Investigations Unit (SIU)

The Special Investigations Unit performs investigations of illegal drug activity within the greater

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metro area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered on the principal city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) identifies it as the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, ...

. The Special Investigations Team performs raids, street-level undercover operations, and gathers evidence in civil forfeiture cases. The Special Investigations Unit is composed of deputies from Multnomah County, officers from the Gresham Police and Troutdale Police departments, as well as an investigative technician.

Reserve Deputy Program

The Reserve Deputy Program is a volunteer-based law enforcement support program operated by the Sheriff's Office. Reserve deputies are sworn peace officers within the state of Oregon, are armed and can perform the same duties as a full-time police officer, although they do not regularly take emergency or 9-1-1 calls. Reserve Deputies primarily cover officers, assist with prisoner transport, and work traffic details. Reserve Deputies also serve as the Sheriff's Office mounted patrol.

Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The Corrections Emergency Response Team responds to incidents within Multnomah County's correctional system. In 1997, CERT was developed to deal with the ever-growing number of inmates and violent crimes occurring within Multnomah County correctional facilities. CERT officers are trained in specialized tactics that differ from such training as that of

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

or other emergency response divisions would receive, because incidents that CERT would respond to mostly happen indoors and with violent offenders. The Crisis Negotiation Team works closely with CERT to resolve hostage situations safely. CERT commonly responds and deals with barricaded persons, mobile booking/mass arrest situations,

hostage rescue A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

, major/minor disturbances, less lethal situations, and lethal situations.

Civil Process Unit

The Civil Process Unit includes three separate divisions: Civil Process, Extraditions, and Mental Health Transport. This unit upholds all civil court mandated orders, consisting of but not limited to: the service-of-notice process in civil lawsuits, enforcing county issued

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

s, and serving

eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgage ...

notices. The

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

transport is responsible for the safe and efficient transport of the criminal or dangerous

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

Dive Team

The Dive Team are sworn members who are on call 24 hours a day. All members must be full-time deputies and be willing to respond to emergency call outs 24 hours a day. The team primarily responds to the Columbia and Willamette rivers where they perform such tasks as rescues, recoveries, and homeland security missions.

Facility Security Unit

The Facility Security Unit is responsible for providing security to a variety of county owned buildings and facilities. Some facilities include The Justice Center, The Multnomah County Courthouse, The East County Courthouse, The Juvenile Justice Complex, The Inverness Jail, The Gateway Center for Domestic Violence, as well as a handful of Multnomah County Libraries.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, eight officers have died in the line of duty.

References

External links

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office

Multnomah County Emergency Management
{{Coord, 45.5263, -122.5378, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Multnomah County, Oregon Sheriffs' offices of Oregon 1854 establishments in Oregon Territory