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2. Medford is rated as one of the highest crime areas in Oregon. It’s population is near
40K, yet it has more burglaries than cities much much larger. The crime wave hitting the
Rogue Valley has more victims than just those who have been stolen from. Home
Insurance rates are going up because of the number of theft claims, people are forced
to pay for security systems, fear causes decreased mental and emotional health of
those in the area, and taxpayers suffer as more money is spent on police overtime.
The first step in solving the problem is to do an assessment of the community and
determine what factors are leading to the increase in crime and what effective solution
there may be. This is not a simple process and the more detailed information can be
gathered the better. A committee consisting of mostly community members should be
formed that can compile all the relevant information. It is important that these
community members represent all parts of the community, specifically those that are
underserved. Poverty has a strong correlation with increased crime and the leaders of
the less affluent portions of the community will have perhaps better solutions than those
with educational background. A specific example could be ways to keep the most crime
