Media Board

Recent media releases from the Benton County Sheriff's Office are listed below. To read past media releases, go to the "Supporting Documents" section of this web page.

Christmas Came Early for 33 Kids This Year

Thirty-seven law enforcement personnel from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Corvallis Police Department and Oregon State Police participated in the 25th Annual “Shop with a Cop” event on Saturday, December 7, 2019.

Forty-two children were invited to participate through agencies including Benton County Parole and Probation and Self Sufficiency and Child Welfare offices of the Department of Human Services.

The Corvallis Fred Meyer hosted this year’s event and provided refreshments for employees, volunteers and family.

A $40.00 gift card was presented to each child to purchase gifts; although many public safety professionals dug into their own pockets to ensure the kids got what they wanted.

Some of the children are initially frightened of law enforcement. For some, the only contact they have had with law enforcement is when a parent or other family member is arrested.

Shop with a Cop gives the children an opportunity to see law enforcement officers in a different light. Not only do these children go home with a warm coat or a special toy, but also with the memory of a new friend in law enforcement.

While one might expect the kids to buy gifts for themselves, “that is often not the case,” Captain Rogers mentioned. “Many children want to buy gifts for family members.”

This program is supported entirely by donations; financial contributions are collected year-round. If you are interested in supporting, please make a check out to “The Sheriff’s Foundation – Shop with a Cop” and send it to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, 180 NW 5th St, Corvallis, OR 97330.

November 2019 Driver Citation Statistics

During regular patrols and extra patrols in November 2019, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) had the following activity levels measured in citations and arrests: five individuals were arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) (three for alcohol, two for drugs), 29 citations were issued for Driving While Suspended, 53 citations for speeding, one for not wearing a seatbelt, three for using their cell phone while driving, and 69 other citations for various violations. Deputies responded to 17 traffic crashes, four of those involved injuries.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office worked extra patrols throughout the month of November 2019 with the assistance of grant funds provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The grant is managed by Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Oregon Impact. The goal of this grant funding is to help reduce traffic fatalities, injuries, crimes and violations, and to help make our roadways safer.

BCSO will continue to participate in extra patrols enforcing speed, safety belts, distracted driving, and DUII laws throughout the grant year, which runs from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020. Deputies will also be working extra patrols specifically targeting the crime of DUII during the winter holiday season between December 13, 2019 and January 2, 2020.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office encourages people to have fun and enjoy this upcoming holiday season. We just ask you do it safely and responsibly, to help keep our roadways and loved ones safe.

Holiday Extra Patrol Stats

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded $37,000 in traffic safety grant money for extra enforcement of DUII laws, distracted driving, speeding, and people not wearing their seatbelts. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office was awarded the grant money from NIHTSA, and is managed by ODOT and Oregon Impact. The goal of these grants is to help reduce traffic fatalities, injuries, crimes and violations, and to help make our roadways safer. The Sheriff’s Office will be participating in those extra patrols throughout the grant year which runs from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020. This is not the first year the Benton County Sheriff’s Office has received grant funding to help augment and have extra patrols for the same and similar traffic crimes and violations, and it will hopefully continue.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office had few extra patrols in October 2019 surrounding Halloween where deputies were targeting drivers speeding and other unsafe traffic violations. During the extra patrols, deputies working on the grant overtime issued 11 citations primarily for speeding, and some for other traffic violations. Those deputies also warned 13 other drivers for minor traffic violations.

Deputies will continue to have extra patrols for enforcing speed, safety belt, distracted driving (using cell phone while driving), and DUII enforcement in November surrounding the Thanksgiving Holiday. Deputies will also be working extra patrols specifically targeting the crime of Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants during the winter holiday season between December 13, 2019 and January 2, 2020.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office encourages people to have fun and enjoy this upcoming holiday season. We just ask that you do it safely and responsibly and help to keep our roadways and loved ones safe. We will continue to look for and arrest impaired drivers, people using their cell phones while driving, speeding, not wearing their safety belts, and other unsafe driving behaviors.

Driver impairment and speeding are the most common causes of injury crashes. Oregon’s DUII enforcement program is committed to reducing the amount of crashes and impaired drivers on our roadways by keeping them off the roadway and arresting them when they choose to drive. For more info on impaired driving, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.com. For help with child seats or additional “best practice” information, refer to the seat manufacturer’s instructions, vehicle owner’s manual or call ACTS Oregon Child Safety Seat Resource Center at 503-643-5620 in Portland or 877-793-2608.

DUII & Seatbelt Saturation Patrol

Results from DUII saturation patrol (August 16 – September 2, 2019)
Results from Seatbelt saturation patrol (August 19 – September 1, 2019)

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office participated in extra seat belt saturation patrol between August 19 through September 1, 2019. BCSO also participated in extra DUII saturation patrol August 16 through September 2, 2019 to coincide with the end of summer and Labor Day Weekend. During that date range there were four drivers arrested for DUII by the Sheriff’s Office, and one Drug Recognition Expert Evaluation completed. During that time frame drivers were also stopped for multiple traffic violations. BCSO issued a total of 148 traffic citations during that time with 90 for speeding, 17 for driving while suspended, 3 for speaking on their cell phone, 2 for failing to use Interlocking Device Systems, 1 for failing to wear their safety belt, and issued multiple warnings. BCSO investigated 10 traffic crashes with 3 of them involving injuries.

Benton County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting other traffic blitzes throughout the end of the year surrounding holiday weekends, and events where there is more traffic on our roadways. We will continue to look for and arrest impaired drivers, people using their cell phones while driving, speeding, not wearing their safety belts, and other unsafe driving behaviors.