Portland Police Response Times Soar Amid Crime Surge
Shattered glass lined the sidewalks. Downtown Portland was recovering from nightly riots five days after George Floyd’s police death. I was downtown with friends, helping businesses recover from the latest bout of violence. Officers with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) were taking reports from damaged businesses.
More than three years later, Portland police are still struggling to respond to crime. The PPB is dealing with high response times, high crime rates, and low staffing levels, according to a Manhattan Institute report released Sept. 14.
Portland’s Public Safety Crisis
“Portland, Oregon, is in the middle of a public safety crisis,” the report reads. “What sets Portland apart are the limits on its capacity to respond to these issues with the traditional tools of the criminal justice system and, in particular, its capacity to use the police.”
The PPB took more than 20 minutes to respond to high-priority calls, more than 50 minutes to respond to medium-priority calls, and more than one and a half hours to respond to low-priority calls as of July, according to the report.
“Like other major cities, Portland, Oregon, has experienced a surge in crime and disorder over the past three years,” the report reads. “Unlike other major cities, Portland is uniquely ill-equipped to deal with this problem, because its police department is uniquely understaffed.”
The city’s shootings spiked after Floyd’s death, reaching a 26-year record in 2020 and setting all-time homicide records in 2021 and 2022. Portland followed the “defund the police” movement, slashing $15 million from the PPB’s budget and cutting the number of sworn officers by 8 percent.
“Property crimes have surged,” the report reads. “Public disorder, in the form of camping and public drug use, is rampant.”
The year following Floyd’s death, one in every 1,000 black Portland residents was murdered.
“The effects of this crime wave fell disproportionately on those whom protesters claimed to help,” the authors found. “The city set homicide records in the past two years and is facing a wave of shootings that has not yet receded.”
At the same time, staffing levels sank. The PPB had just one narcotics detective by 2023, as more than half its narcotics officers were transferred back to patrol in 2021. That year, 115 officers resigned or retired, the largest mass departure in the city’s recent history.
“This is a tremendous loss in historic and institutional knowledge and relationships with the community,” reads the PPB’s 2021 annual report. “While the bureau can eventually fill these positions, it will take years for members to gain the same level of expertise.”
Staffing Crisis and Solutions
The PPB was already 120 officers short of its authorized staffing levels in 2019, but its staffing-to-population ratio had been declining since 1995, according to the Manhattan Institute report. Portland has the 48th lowest such ratio among America’s 50 largest cities, with just 1.26 officers per 1,000 residents. According to the PPB’s website, the bureau currently has 294 total patrol officers split between three precincts.
The report offers a reason for the decline in staff. Declining police morale following the 2020 riots, along with a lengthy, under-resourced hiring and training process, contribute to the problem.
“The only differences between the Titanic and PPB?” one officer leaving the department asked The Oregonian. “Deck chairs and a band.”
The PPB requires 1,120 hours of basic training, along with a laundry list of requirements to serve, while city departments nationwide required an average of 971 hours in 2018. PPB officers also spend close to 960 hours in field training, compared to a national average of 637 hours in city departments.
On top of this, officer applications decreased by close to 40 percent, from 1,075 in 2019 to 675 in 2021. The PPB hired only 27 officers that year.
But the report also suggests solutions. Portland needs close to 1,130 officers to reach the same median staffing rate as other major cities.
“The city would need those officers to be available to do the work of policing — patrolling, investigating, and keeping the city safe,” the report reads. “Decisive action is needed.”
The city should pay its officers enough to attract new recruits and keep up with local housing costs, which are 12 percent higher than average across the state, according to the report. While the PPB could secure state and federal funding for better pay, money would be a constraint.
So the report said the PPB should make hiring practices more efficient by reevaluating standards and hiring more staff to process new hires. It also recommended shortening training wherever possible.
The PPB could also embrace “civilianization,” or allowing civilians to do jobs currently performed by current officers, the report said. The PPB employed 123 “non-patrol” officers as of July 2023, which means they were kept off the streets. But if civilians performed any of these tasks possible, officers currently labeled “non-patrol” could bolster staffing.
The last remedy, however, would require “political will,” according to the report. If the mayor and city council worked to restore officer trust in civilian leadership, it could encourage officers to stay on the force. Many departing officers blamed leftist Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt for making their work seem purposeless by failing to prosecute criminals, so this effort would also require more prosecutions.
“Without intervention, a once-vibrant city could fall victim to this vicious cycle, hollowed out by its own inaction,” the report concludes. “The time to reverse course and to arrest the problem is now.”
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How has the surge in crime rates and public disorder in Portland affected the overall environment and quality of life for residents
Portland’s Police Struggle to Respond to Crime: A Public Safety Crisis
Shattered glass litters the sidewalks of downtown Portland, the aftermath of nightly riots that occurred five days after the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. As I walked through the area with friends, we witnessed the damage and joined in the efforts to help local businesses recover. The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) was present, taking reports from the affected establishments.
However, more than three years later, Portland’s police force continues to struggle in their response to crime. The PPB currently faces challenges such as high response times, high crime rates, and low staffing levels, as highlighted in a recent report by the Manhattan Institute, released on September 14th.
According to the report, the PPB takes more than 20 minutes to respond to high-priority calls, more than 50 minutes to respond to medium-priority calls, and over one and a half hours to respond to low-priority calls as of July. These delays in response times are concerning, as they directly affect the safety and security of the community.
“What sets Portland apart are the limits on its capacity to respond to these issues with the traditional tools of the criminal justice system and, in particular, its capacity to use the police,” states the report. It emphasizes that Portland is facing a public safety crisis, and the lack of adequate policing is a major contributing factor.
It is worth noting that Portland’s crime rates have surged over the past three years, similar to other major cities. However, unlike other cities, Portland is ill-equipped to handle this problem due to its understaffed police department. This lack of resources and manpower has severely hampered their ability to effectively tackle the increasing levels of crime and disorder in the city.
The situation worsened when the city embraced the “defund the police” movement, leading to a $15 million budget cut for the PPB and an 8 percent reduction in the number of sworn officers. This decision had significant repercussions, with the city experiencing a spike in shootings, reaching a 26-year record in 2020, and setting all-time homicide records in 2021 and 2022.
The report highlights that property crimes have surged, and public disorder, including camping and public drug use, has become rampant. These issues not only threaten the safety of Portland residents but also create an environment of uncertainty and fear within the city.
In the year following Floyd’s death, alarming statistics emerged, revealing that one in every 1,000 black Portland residents was murdered. This startling figure emphasizes the urgent need for a comprehensive and immediate solution to address the public safety crisis gripping the city.
Portland must take immediate action to address the staffing shortage within the PPB and allocate resources that will enable the department to effectively respond to and prevent crime. Reassessing the budget cuts and reallocating funds to support law enforcement efforts should be a priority. Additionally, exploring community-based initiatives that work in tandem with the police force can help rebuild trust and enhance the city’s overall safety.
It is crucial for the residents of Portland, as well as for the city’s reputation, that steps are taken to resolve the public safety crisis. By investing in the proper resources and implementing strategic plans, Portland can rebuild its police force’s capacity to respond to crime effectively and ensure a safer future for its communities.
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