.png)
Effective Monday, January 27th, 2025, the Lincoln County District Attorney's Office will be unable to provide any detective services for the first time in over twenty years due to a vacancy in the full-time detective position. The District Attorney's Office currently employs an individual who is a certified law enforcement officer, currently qualifies for the position, and previously held the position in August 2024. A request has been made for that individual to temporarily work out of class to avoid any gaps in services. Unfortunately, that request has been denied by the County without explanation.
The District Attorney's Office is focused on filling the detective position as soon as possible and has submitted a requisition to fill it with the qualified employee, who previously occupied the detective position. This request was made pursuant to the employee asserting rights under the Lincoln County Employee's Association Collective Bargaining Agreement. Based upon the County's past practice, this requisition process can take anywhere from 24 hours to 5 months depending upon the urgency of the request and government bureaucracy.
At this time, there is no alternative plan to fill the gaps in services left without an internal detective.
All potential options have been exhausted. This will negatively impact the District Attorney's Office's day-to-day operations and delay our ability to prosecute crime in Lincoln County.
Until further notice, due to the vacancy of the detective position, the District Attorney's Office will be unable to provide victims or witnesses transportation to court hearings, grand juries and/or criminal trials, which will likely result in requests for continuances or potential dismissals. This will also impact our ability to send a law enforcement representative to child forensic interviews at the Children's Advocacy Center, causing a potential delay in child sexual or physical abuse investigations.
We will be unable to assist in locating offenders in warrant status, including offenders who have fled Oregon in an attempt to avoid arrest on Measure 11 offenses. Further, the detective position is the lead representative for Lincon County's Cold Case Team, which is responsible for investigating missing persons and homicides that have remained unsolved in Lincoln County. Until the detective position is filled, this will cause a temporary pause in any cold case investigation, including the Kelly Disney homicide which was recently awarded federal resources and funding.
Additionally, instead of handling all criminal follow-up investigations internally, those requests will be sent back to the originating law enforcement agency. The District Attorney's Office understands and apologizes for the burden these requests will cause on already under-staffed police agencies and appreciates any support during this service gap to continue serving this community to the best of our ability. The District Attorney's Office recognizes that these gaps in services are not reasonable nor sustainable and will be a detriment to our community. We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible to lessen the impact on crime victims and Lincoln County citizens.
