Portland’s police union has an explanation for the city’s decline in the number of police officers applying to Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
“The reason the Police Bureau is experiencing catastrophic staffing shortages, drastically declining recruiting success, and the inability to retain officers is due to one core issue,” writes Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association (PPA) in a Monday press release. “The intense anti-police sentiment in our City that City Council seems to share.”
In March, the City Budget Office released data that PPB has 75 open officer positions, despite the bureau’s evergreen request for more officer positions. What’s more, the city found that 25 percent of PPB officers hired in the last three years quit within 18 months. City economists blamed this problem on PPB’s slow hiring process (PPB applicants wait an average of 11 months to be hired after applying for an officer job) and an uptick in officer retirements.
Turner, however, argues that potential officers have stopped applying to work for PPB because policing in Portland has become “hideously unattractive.”
“False narratives, knee jerk political reactions, along with personal and political agendas have created a hostile work environment and made it an impossible task to effectively police in the City of Portland,” writes Turner.
He backs the concerns raised by PPB Chief Danielle Outlaw in a budget work session with city commissioners last week, where she linked recruitment issues to the national perception of Portland policing.
“Working here in Portland is unique, and it’s been recognized all over the country,” Outlaw said. “We deal with demonstrations, protests, crowd management things… We catch a lot of headlines. And, quite frankly, folks would rather go to other agencies and make similar or more money for less scrutiny.”
Outlaw also said that the extra layers of police oversight that come with a police bureau like Portland’s being under a federal settlement agreement doesn’t help.
“For those who aren’t organically change agents, there not going to automatically come and do that work,” she said.
In the PPA press release, Turner notes that Outlaw’s comments “seemed to go right over the Commissioners’ heads.” He characterized Mayor Ted Wheeler’s work to support the PPB as largely reactionary and self-serving.
“Mayor Wheeler is quick to praise the work done by police officers until controversy stares him in the face,” Turner writes. “In recent weeks, he’s acknowledged that failure and promises to be more supportive in the future. It’s imperative that his actions reflect his words. And it’s imperative that the rest of City Council does the same.”
Officer Turner is too close to see the real problem. The police are absolutely dependent on the goodwill of the residents to report and testify. But American police culture has stressed intimidation to “control the situation,” rather than deescalation. Police have developed and insular culture which isolates them. Turner himself has stressed paranoia and assumed victimhood by police. The union has reversed almost every legitimate disciplinary action for over 35 years.
The result is that the residents don’t support the police.
BTW: “For those who aren’t organically change agents, there not going to automatically come and do that work.” They’re
For someone that has called the city that his largely out-of-town police force works for a “cesspool”, Turner sure does have some stringent standards for our acquiescence.
Tell me: would you, average Portlander, want to work for a force that not only keeps on staff but actively promotes an officer that builds shrines to Nazi criminals?
Would you want to work for a union that denigrates your city and its citizens continually, and maligns the values you hold dear on a regular basis?
Would you want to work for a commissioner who is regularly put over a barrel by the people he’s supposed to “reform” and monitor?
Would you want to work for a chief that goes on right wing radio and brags about beating up your fellow Portlanders when out-of state fascist goon squads come to harass your town with the help of the very people that are nominally meant to protect and serve them?
The city’s relationship with police is broken due to the actions of the police and their administrators. No new cops until the current system gets fixed. There is nothing else to say here.
Portland’s crime rate ranks 62nd in the nation among cities with 100,000 or more. In Oregon alone, it has a lower crime rate than Medford or Coos Bay. It has less crime than Seattle, Spokane, San Francisco or Oakland. If it’s at that level with 75 fewer cops than it should have, then Turner’s calls for more cops are full of garbage. If he’d end marching season here by actually arresting Patriot Prayer members with outstanding warrants, he wouldn’t have his little national-spotlight problem.
Many commenters bring up good points, much of the blame can be placed on how certain members of the police force have (or have not) addressed internal issues, particularly allegations and ties to white supremacy, but it’s a huge concern if these issues don’t get fixed and the trend continues.
Even the best and most well-meaning officers, if stretched thin and overworked (which is what happens when an organization of any type is understaffed) will make mistakes and/or have lapses in judgment in dealing with stressful situations.
It’s going to take a long time to deal with overall trust and reputation issues, but surely there’s at least something that could be done about the absurdly lengthy hiring process. It can’t be the case that it takes an average of 11 months to hire a new officer in other major cities, what are they doing that we aren’t doing?
So what I’m hearing is : Portland police are so awful that residents can’t even be offered large sums of money with retirement & benefit packages to help, work with, or even be associated with the cops.
I love you Portland. Once again, I’m proud of my hometown.
They don’t get large sums of money. All of the previous comments mention the many, many other good reasons not to join the police force, but also, they get terrible pay.
STFU, https://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Portland-Police-Bureau-Police-Officer-Hourly-Pay-E208254_D_KO23,37.htm
I have a question for Turner. Is it possible that some potential officers, especially minority officers but also whites who aren’t racists might be turned off by the idea of working at a place that consistently promotes a guy who makes shrines to Nazis and dresses up as one for fun? I mean maybe he just pretends to be a Nazi, who knows but other cops seem to think he is one, and until Kruger is out I can’t understand why anyone would consider working for the PPB.
Way to support your public union workers, folks. The designated representative of the bargaining unit is explaining the problem, but management doesn’t even have to make a peep because they know Joe Citizen AntiCop will do their work for them.
Kind of proves his point. But don’t worry, maybe the AuntieFay crowd will step up and fill in.
The head of the bargaining unit is accountable to the membership, period. That is whose opinions and input should matter to him. Not poker buddies and not random citizens to whom he, in his role as union president, owes nothing. And that’s whose concerns he is conveying to management, who then sit back and wait for the knee jerk default response from the anti-cop stalwarts to do their heavy lifting for them. But hey, right on, keep pushing the management line.
If the cops acted like human beings people wouldn’t hate them. The cops themselves are responsible for the problems and the public perception. They can change it or keep crying.
Aurals, go for a ride along sometime. See for yourself what cops have to deal with, day in and day out. Domestic violence calls, tweakers threatening 7-11 workers, drunk drivers putting people in danger and then arguing and making excuses, rolling up to potential drug dens knowing there is a high likelihood of armed dealers inside who would have no compunction over putting a bullet in your head. See how long you would last “acting like a human being” before you went depressed or started to harden up and become cynical. It’s a remarkably difficult job, and you speak from a position of pure armchair ignorance. We can demand better of our police force without your tired, ignorant slogan tossing.
As for our low crime rate, that’s great, let’s keep it low by appropriately staffing our law enforcement, particularly as Portland’s population growth shows no signs of slowing down.
@12 “The head of the bargaining unit is accountable to the membership, period. That is whose opinions and input should matter to him.” Considering that his actions are increasing scrutiny of those members while increasing their workload, how’s that working out for him?
“Not poker buddies and not random citizens to whom he, in his role as union president, owes nothing.” He’s a civil servant first and a union head second, but he’d clearly rather listen to out-of-town cops and their complaints than those of actual city residents.
“And that’s whose concerns he is conveying to management, who then sit back and wait for the knee jerk default response from the anti-cop stalwarts to do their heavy lifting for them. But hey, right on, keep pushing the management line.” Yes, let’s talk about “the management line.” As it turns out, “management” is comprised of elected officials. In fact, with the mayor serving as chief of police, their boss is an elected representative. This means that they’re getting input from citizens and taking it back to the rank-and-file. They’re “pushing the management line” because city residents ARE the management. Now if Turner wants to go back to Newark, where he can hide from Ras Baraka behind a police chief, that’s just fine. But he’s in Portland, which means he has to answer to Portlanders. When those Portlanders don’t like the fact that cops protect white supremacists, manhandle local protesters, and shoot the mentally ill, he and his people are going to hear about it until something changes… and reinforcements aren’t coming.
Outside of the hyperbolic propaganda at the end of your comment (which could be easily replaced with similar hyperbolic rants about any municipal worker), your comment should be looked at from the perspective of any of the many other public sector unions representing city employees. Suzanne Cohen, math teacher and president of the Portland Association of Teachers? “She’s a civil servant first and a union head second, but she’d clearly rather listen to out-of-town teachers and their complaints than those of actual city residents.” Steve Demerast, Admin Law Judge and President of SEIU Local 503? “He’s a civil servant first and a union head second, but he’d clearly rather listen to out-of-town home care providers, public school custodians, and public school Nutrition Services Food Service Assistants and their complaints than those of actual city residents.”
And the appropriate answer is “yes, absolutely” because the membership elect them and pay them to represent and protect the memberships’ interests, not listen to every rando citizen with an opinion.
Face it, you are incapable of reason in any discussion about law enforcement, either you support unions or you don’t. The professions of their members should be irrelevant.
@14 Fuck no. I don’t need a ride along to know what cops face. I was a homeless teen in this city 20 fucking years ago. I know what they (and I) faced. Cops take bad situations and make them worse. Period, end of story. I have more to fear from any cop then even the surliest crackhead or mentally unstable person. That perception is based on countless daily experience with the fucking police. They are fucking shitbags and I toast a beer every time I hear one of them gets injured or killed. And for the record I can easily say I’ve been harassed and hassled over a hundred times in a few years with zero arrests, because I didn’t do anything wrong. But I do know women who were sexually assaulted and men who were physically assaulted for no legitimate reason. ACAB
Aurals,
Have you considered that maybe the lowest common denominator in your life is you, and you are to blame?
I’m sure there are a few bad apples and maybe even bad leadership at the top – but there is no denying it is a difficult job and one that faces constant scrutiny and criticism. Dealing w mentally ill, homeless, domestic violence, clashes between different protesting groups… a difficult and thankless job.
But they are hiring. So go be the change you want to see in the world.
21- So for you it boils down to; “but, but, but, but cops are DIFFERENT”. Time well spent.