During the past decade, 13th Avenue has cleaned up its act with help from the Eugene Police Department West University Station, local business owners say.
“Years ago, it was just terrible,” Rainbow Optics owner Sheila Daughtry said. “There were people sleeping outside the building. Windows were broken. I’d even have customers call in to see if it was safe to come down to the store.”
When EPD Officer Randy Ellis first began working in the area, he said at least 200 arrests and citations occurred along 13th Avenue each month. Now, Ellis said he won’t reach that number in a year.
“A person should be able to come down 13th and not have to run into a panhandler, step over a drunk, or walk around dog crap,” Ellis said. “It’s those sort of quality-of-life issues that people get tired of and expect to be stopped.”
Ellis said the West University Small Business Association initially worked to establish the EPD presence in the area, and the organization now pays part of the salaries for West University Station officers. Business owners also pay an extra tax of about $1,200 a year to provide funding for the West University station. It is a price Daughtry at Rainbow Optics is more than willing to pay for the extra protection.
“It’s really special to have the police so close,” Daughtry said. “Paying for that extra help is very, very worth it.”
The University also helps fund the base because, Ellis said, the administration realizes its responsibility for students extends beyond campus boundaries, and cleaning up the area can only improve the school as a whole.
“People come back and don’t recognize the area,” Ellis said. “Students might think it’s always been this way but that’s not the case.”
7-Eleven owner Don Scarpelli said positive change only began after Ellis and other police officials moved into the area about 10 years ago. The West University officers first established themselves in a construction trailer in the 7-Eleven parking lot. Eventually, Sacred Heart Medical Center offered to lease the land where the West University station is currently located. Ellis said the hospital also maintains the lot and all the landscaping in an effort to maintain community security.
Although incidents along 13th Avenue have decreased since EPD set up camp, Ellis said crime hasn’t disappeared completely. The Duck Store is still occasionally graffitied and shoplifting remains a major concern, merchandise manager Arlyn Schaufler said. Students who shoplift at the store tend to use an “entitlement attitude” to justify the crime, Ellis said.
“We get some students who reason that they’ve spent so much money at the store, that they’re entitled to take something in return,” Ellis said. “It’s called committing a crime with a ‘social conscience.’”
Overall, however, Schaufler said crime doesn’t really seem to be a big issue at the Duck Store.
“I think one reason we aren’t often targeted is because of our work with all the student groups on campus,” Schaufler said. “I think people tend to view this store as their store.”
Scarpelli of 7-Eleven also believes a strong relationship with students helps keep crime low.
“There’s a difference between crime and rowdiness,” Scarpelli said. “Sometimes incidents will occur out in the parking lot but they’re always short-lived. All in all, the kids are great and very respectful.”
University senior Katie Miller said the close proximity of 13th Avenue makes it feel like an extension of campus.
“13th Avenue is a part of UO’s history,” Miller said. “For that reason, I think students wouldn’t really be comfortable stealing from small stores along that street.”
Beyond the relationship between student and shopkeeper, University sophomore Brynn Balcom said students might be hesitant to shoplift or commit a crime along the street because of the obvious presence of a police station.
Ellis said he has seen more and more crime incidents occurring further out in Eugene.
“Crime has moved out on the fringes,” Ellis said. “However, criminals still live close to the University. Problems don’t just come from the outside city.”
Keeping this in mind, Ellis said the University still remains a prime target for crime because of the mass collection of students and their possessions. Also, students tend to be more naive, Ellis said.
“It’s not smart to ask some person you just met to watch your computer while you use the restroom,” Ellis said. “The student tends to think ‘it’s safe because I wouldn’t ever steal anything’ but student-to-student crime happens all the time.”
Nothing guarantees that without the presence of the West University station, 13th Avenue would remain safe, Ellis said. Recalling a rough past along the avenue, Daughtry of Rainbow Optics said she is highly grateful to officers like Ellis who help keep her store open for business.
“Without the influence of Randy Ellis and other officers,” she said, “I know it just wouldn’t be this way in the area.”
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