Oran police return to 'random patrol'

ORAN, Mo. -- Police patrols here will be changing following recent traffic accidents and a vandalism spree.

Police chief Marc Tragesser calls his operations a random patrol, adding that it is done to make the most of his department made up of two full-time officers and one part-time officer.

"It's a proactive type of patrol," he said. Officers often park their car and walk around the neighborhood, stopping at businesses. As there is only one officer on duty for the majority of the day, parking the squad car and walking around gives the illusion of having more officers out, Tragesser said.

As the night officer's shift winds down, Tragesser comes out and does his own patrols until about 5:30 a.m. He then goes home to sleep before heading back into the office later in the day.

"To me, you'd want your police officer while you're sleeping," he said. "That's the most crucial time."

Tragesser said that was the way his department was handling patrol duties until nearly two months ago.

Starting in July, Tragesser dropped his preferred style of patroling the city to appease critics and adopted the techniques used by his predecessor, the chief said.

The old style of patrol involved driving the squad car around throughout the day, going from one side of town to another, Tragesser said.

During this type of patrol, the chief covered the day, the second officer covered nights until about 1 a.m., and the part-time officer covered weekends.

The chief said 80 to 90 miles could be put on the car each night, double what is put on in his preferred patrol.

Following the switch to the old patrol routes, the chief said there have been two serious accidents in the area during the early morning hours, both due to speeding and one involving an impaired driver.

While Tragesser admits a police officer could not have outright stopped the accidents, had a police officer been out it could have deterred the speeding.

Tragesser said he made the decision to switch back to his preferred style of patrol following the accidents, but the transition was not made in time to stop recent vandalism that targeted vehicles and buildings with spray paint

The vandalism occurred between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Tuesday, a time that would have mostly been covered by the chief's patrols, Tragesser said.

More than 10 vehicles, including an Oran police squad car and two school buses, were spray painted and had tires slashed.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127