Staff at Oregon’s state parks failed to complete safety inspections of park buildings and kept inconsistent records of state property, according to an audit released April 1 by the Oregon Secretary of State.

The problems, auditors found, could risk visitor safety and taxpayer money due to lawsuits and fines if not addressed.

“Oregonians love their state parks and have been able to safely enjoy them for decades,” Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said in a statement. “The findings in this audit will help protect that important legacy and our public dollars.”

The audit was the latest hit in what’s been a rough stretch for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, which faces a multimillion revenue shortfall and has responded with a series of unpopular fee increases and program cuts.

In response to the audit, OPRD issued a statement saying agency officials agreed with the report’s findings “and have already begun implementing improvements, many of which were underway during the audit.”

Interim director Stefanie Coons added: “The safety of our visitors and the protection of Oregon’s state parks have always guided our decisions, and we remain committed to strengthening the systems that support that responsibility.”

The audit period covered June 2022 to June 2025.

OPRD doesn’t complete building safety inspections, audit finds

Auditors found that “OPRD doesn’t consistently complete or document required building inspections.”  

“When inspections are missed or aren’t recorded, it could lead to injuries to the public and reduce confidence in the safety of Oregon’s parks,” the audit said. “These gaps could affect staff safety, limit OPRD’s ability to identify hazards early and respond properly and may result in regulatory fines.”

The areas inspected were located at overnight campgrounds that offer tent and RV camping and have restrooms.

Oregon State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a woman who went missing after getting into a person’s vehicle when she ran out of gas on Highway 22 on March 28.

Maria Linda Jade Kilmer, 28, was driving from Lyons to Salem when her car ran out of fuel near milepost 15 just west of Stayton at 9 p.m. A passenger who was traveling with Kilmer told police she left with an unidentified motorist who stopped at the scene.

Police describe Kilmer as having dark hair, blue eyes and is approximately 5-feet-8-inches tall. She weighs 180 pounds. She frequents areas in the Willamette Valley from Salem to Portland, an OSP spokesperson said, and has a piercing in the middle of her lower lip.

Kilmer left her keys, purse, identification, phone and other belongings. She has not been seen since.

Police ask anyone with information to call 911 or Oregon State Police dispatch at *677.

Eder Campuzano is the local news editor for the Statesman Journal. He can can be reached at ecampuzano@statesmanjournal.com. Find him on Bluesky at @ederc.bsky.social or Threads @ederc.

• The number of security cameras in the U.S. is growing, with an estimated 85 million installed by 2021.
• In Oregon, it is legal to point security cameras on your property toward public areas like streets and sidewalks.
• While you can generally point a camera at a neighbor’s house, aiming it into private areas like bedrooms or bathrooms is illegal.

There are millions of homes and businesses with security cameras and the number is only growing.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, surveillance camera installations in the U.S. were expected to grow from 47 million in 2015 to about 85 million by 2021.

An estimated 10 million Amazon’s Ring doorbell cameras are in use nationwide, according to a 2023 report from Politico, and dozens of other companies have made their own doorbell cameras to jump on the craze.

At the same time, concerns over surveillance are on the rise. Ring ended its partnership with Flock, a Georgia-based tech surveillance company, in February. Throughout 2025, Eugene and Springfield residents fought back against the installation of Flock license-plate reader cameras, which led to them being taken down seven months later.

On your private property, what laws exist around security cameras and where they can point? The Register-Guard looked at state and municipal laws to find out.

Can you point a security camera at the street or sidewalk?

Yes. You can absolutely point security cameras located on your property at the street.

There are no laws around recording video in “public view.”

“Public view” is classified as any area that can be readily seen by normal, unaided vision when viewed from a public place, including streets.

Can you point a security camera at your neighbor’s house?

Usually, yes, your surveillance cameras can be pointed toward others’ homes. While there are no specific Oregon laws against installing security cameras that are directed at your neighbor’s home, you may want to be careful where exactly it’s pointed.

If you have a doorbell camera, for example, that points directly from your front door to your neighbor’s front door across the street, that’s completely legal.

Anything visible in “public view” is permissible to video as long as you remain on public or your own property.

According to a city of Eugene spokesperson, there are no city laws against a private party having a security camera and what direction it is pointing.

However, it can get tricky, depending on where exactly you point your cameras. For example, if you have a two-story home and you point your security camera into your neighbor’s backyard, that might be harder to defend in court. It all hinges on ORS 163.700 — Invasion of personal privacy.

Can you point a surveillance camera into your neighbor’s bedroom or bathroom?

Effectively, no. You cannot point a camera into your neighbor’s bedroom or bathroom without risking breaking Oregon law.

This would likely be a violation of ORS 163.700, constituting an invasion of personal privacy in the second degree.