July was busy for Pendleton police

By Terry Murry on Thursday, August 8th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – The month of July was much busier than normal for the Pendleton Police Department. There were a total of 2,678 calls for service as opposed to 1,258 in July 2023. Police Chief Chuck Byram drilled down on those numbers and found out the increase in calls for service meant PPD was busy in a good way.

“The real uptick in those calls for service comes from officer-initiated activity, meaning more officers out and about and observing things, and addressing things right then and there,” Byram said. “Proactive police work.”

The chief said that calls that came from emergency dispatch totaled 1,258 in 2023. In 2024, there were 1,285 calls that came from dispatch. For the first time in several years, the Pendleton Police Department is fully staffed.

He said that even though there were officers being trained in 2023, that July recorded 656 officer-related incidents. For this July it totaled 1,393. “That means our officers are out there identifying issues, addressing those issues, not driving with blinders on, getting out of their cars, and engaging with the public.”