Livability Team

The Livability Team officially kicked off in September 2019 after the Medford City Council and Budget Committee approved funding. Since its inception, the City of Medford has approved additional funding to add more officers and community service officers to the team. The team is now comprised of eight sworn Police Officers, two full-time Community Service Officers, two part-time Community Service Officers, and one Records Specialist.

The Livability Team is comprised of dedicated employees who focus on addressing livability issues throughout the City of Medford. The team also performs weekly outreach and cleanup efforts. The mission of the Livability Team is to improve community livability by reducing criminal behavior along the Greenway and Downtown corridor. This can be accomplished through enforcement, linking resources to people experiencing homelessness, partnerships, and through a collaborative approach to identifying long-term solutions.

The team is currently focusing on the following areas of concern and have the flexibility to adapt to new areas:

Downtown
Bear Creek Greenway
City of Medford parks
Work with Continuum of Care Coordinators to refer individuals to programs
Types of crimes the team would help address: drinking in public, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, prohibited camping, trespass, theft, drug violations and crimes, and outside burning violations and crimes.

Since its inception, the team has helped individuals work through housing applications, locate rent/security deposit assistance, given out bus passes, helped get proper identification for employment opportunities, and worked hard to build relationships with our community stakeholders, such as our non-profits and faith-based organizations.

To further promote a cooperative approach to this problem, the Livability Team formed the Chronically Homeless Outreach Partnership (CHOP) in 2019 to bring together community stakeholders. The Medford Police Department along with multiple community partners developed a more focused and individualized approach to address the needs for the high-risk population within the City of Medford. This partnership includes social service agencies, the courts, and non-profit organizations. The group meets monthly to discuss and create pathways for personalized solutions.

We will continue to partner with local organizations and lead, where necessary, in addressing these issues, which will take time and patience in order to strike a balance between a hand-up, hand-out, and enforcement approaches.