Hey neighbors, I'd like to talk about something that affects every one of us here on the South Coast: feeling safe in our own community. When you can leave your doors unlocked, let the kids play outside, or even walk downtown without looking over your shoulder, life just works better. Businesses do well, families stick around, and Coos County feels like the great place we all know it can be. Right now, though, that sense of safety is slipping.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Coos County’s crime rate runs higher than average. Property crimes like theft, burglary, and car break-ins are a constant headache. Coos Bay stands out with one of the highest violent crime rates in Oregon. These aren’t just statistics on a page they are your broken windows, stolen tools from your truck, and your neighbors dealing with repeat offenders.

The biggest red flag right now is our jail. After the public safety levy failed, county officials punished us by cutting the jail’s capacity in half from about 98 beds down to just 49. What happened next was exactly what you’d expect. The jail started running at or over capacity almost immediately. In May 2025, they booked 230 people but had to do 102 emergency releases. In March it was 107 early releases. Before the cut, they averaged around 7 emergency releases a month. Now it’s over 80. Many of those let go early were facing property crimes, parole violations, some felonies, and other charges that used to keep repeat offenders off the street longer.

Not Enough Deputies, Not Enough Space

The Sheriff’s Office took a big hit too. Staffing dropped from 94 to 69 people. On some shifts, there are only two deputies covering our entire sprawling county.

They’ve even started closing the office to the public on Thursdays just to catch up on paperwork and backlogs. When response times slow down — especially out in the rural areas — folks start feeling like they’re on their own.

Add in the fentanyl crisis that’s hitting us hard. Overdoses, thefts to feed habits, and all the chaos that comes with it keep first responders running nonstop. Local teams have seized drugs, but with a severely understaffed jail and a minimum number of available beds, it’s tough to hold dealers and repeat offenders accountable. The cycle continues, on and on.

How This Hits Home

This isn’t happening somewhere else, it’s right here. Small businesses eat the cost of repeated break-ins. Retirees and families feel extra vulnerable. Tourists and new residents think twice about settling down or even coming back. When the system can’t keep up, trust erodes. People stop reporting crimes because they believe no one is coming to help, and the criminals won't be held accountable anyway.

What We Can Do About It

Nobody is saying to lock up every low-level offender forever. But we do need a system that actually works, and that means:

  • Finding realistic, sustainable funding to restore jail capacity and get more deputies on the road, and hold our leaders responsible for making sure it happens.
  • Better coordination between the sheriff’s office, city police, and state agencies on drugs and property crime.
  • Smarter use of alternatives like treatment and supervision for some offenders, while keeping real consequences for repeat troublemakers.
  • All of us neighbors, business owners, and local leaders can also get involved through neighborhood watches, supporting first responders, and having honest conversations about priorities.

Public safety shouldn’t be a left-or-right issue. It’s a basic expectation. Whether you’ve lived here your whole life, or just want a peaceful place to raise a family or retire to, we all win when laws are enforced and help shows up when needed.

Coos County has a lot going for it, and this beautiful coast should belong to you hardworking people not criminals. We can’t continue to ignore these cracks in public safety. It’s time to face the numbers, fix the capacity problems, and rebuild the confidence that lets our community thrive. We’re all in this together. Let’s push our commissioners and other leaders to treat public safety like the priority it really is.