Alec Burglin
2023 AMAZING NEIGHBORS - Scappoose
Hometown: Scappoose
Why he is an Amazing Neighbor:
Why he is an Amazing Neighbor: Officer Burglin works in Scappoose to protect and serve his local community
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Scappoose officer aspires to inspire, serve
From helping people experiencing mental health crises to addressing civil disputes, Officer Alec Burglin works with his community in a variety of ways.
Burglin, a patrol officer with the Scappoose Police Department, was hired last year and graduated from the police academy in April 2023. After attending California State University, Fullerton, and working several security jobs, Burglin found his calling in law enforcement.
But Burglin’s admiration for the police started years ago. He recalled an incident when he was young, which involved him dialing 911 and hanging up. Burglin remembered the interaction he had with police, and he strives to make that same impression on the young people that he works with.
“I remember how I looked up to them as a kid,” Burglin said. “So I go to calls or community events and see that same look from kids that I gave to police officers. I get to hand them stickers and engage with them.”
Burglin’s work covers a wide range, including talking to residents about incidents, responding to crashes and working to de-escalate conflicts.
“It’s a lot of that you’re a counselor. You’re a marriage counselor. You’re a police officer. You’re all sorts of things,” Burglin said.
On top of the wide variety of issues Burglin responds to, the long hours keep him busy. According to Burglin, he typically works from 2 p.m. until around 1 a.m., but the hours fluctuate. Recently, Burglin said he worked a 17-hour day after responding to a priority call toward the end of his shift.
“Just because that’s your set schedule doesn’t mean that you’re always going to be working that,” Burglin said.
Despite how arduous Burglin’s work can get, he remains undeterred by the challenges.
He said the experience he is getting — including through an ongoing Columbia County Sheriff’s Office training program — allows him to grow and improve in his position.
“The good thing about being trained with county (deputies) is you get a wide variety of calls and in very high volume, so I’m getting exposed to a lot of different situations,” Burglin said. “So I constantly see improvements.”
Burglin discussed an incident where he helped locate a missing child, saying that moments like those are where he sees himself positively impacting the community.
“There was a missing five-year-old on Sauvie Island, and multiple agencies came together to successfully locate her and return her to her mother,” Burglin said. “We tried to make it not as traumatic of an experience as possible.”
The community in Scappoose is a huge reason why Burglin continues his work, and he said his positive experiences working with the people around him inspire him to do the best job he can.
“The community up here has been generally pretty positive towards law enforcement,” Burglin said. “So I’ve been really blessed to work in a really great community.”
Regarding his next steps, Burglin said he is looking forward to continuing his work and “embedding” himself in the community. Burglin said he wants to get to know more residents and plans to attend upcoming community events to meet his neighbors.
“I’ll be there just every second that I can and just getting as much exposure as I can,” Burglin said.