Twice last week, the Portland Police Bureau claimed that a
lack of manpower makes it hard to meet basic law enforcement needs in
the city. But it seems the city’s ongoing failure to recruit cops is
what’s really putting both the public and officers at risk.
On Tuesday, November 20, Captain Vince Jarmer of the traffic
division told the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s Karl Rohde that he
would like to see a traffic officer investigate all crashes involving
bicyclists and pedestrians—but they lack the personnel. The same
morning, Central Precinct Commander Mike Reese told reporters that the
short-term success of an Old Town drug mission—resulting in 68
felony warrants being issued to suspected drug dealers
[“Cracksploitation!” News, Oct 25]—only happened with help from
other precincts. “We can’t sustain this enforcement effort,” he
said.
So why is the Portland Police Bureau short-staffed?
The problem isn’t money—the Portland Police Bureau’s five
precincts are already authorized by the city’s budget to employ 494
officers on patrol, although currently there are just 380 working. In
reality, the bureau can’t seem to recruit the necessary cops.
Central Precinct is authorized for 99 officers but only has 75: In
other parts of the city, East Precinct has only filled 104 of its 139
funded positions, Northeast 79 of its 99, North 39 out of 48, and
Southeast 83 out of 109. Portland ranks far behind the likes of Denver
and Seattle, cities that employ 2.59 officers per 1,000 population and
2.21 officers per 1,000 population, respectively. (Seattle just added
funding for 150 more officers on top of that.) Portland employs just
1.83 officers per 1,000 residents, with a total of 989 officers in the
bureau as a whole, including those who don’t patrol the streets, in a
city of 540,389 people. The national average is 2.79 officers per 1,000
population, Portland is 518 officers short of that average.
Less cops means longer hours for existing officers, affecting their
ability to deliver good service, protect each other, and of course,
protect the public.
“We’ve been doing more with less for so long that it’s hard to
provide basic law enforcement services, much less do extra,” says
downtown street crimes Sergeant Chris Davis, who is left short-handed
in his attempt to tackle crack dealing in Old Town. “Every day people
are hired on overtime just to respond to calls.”
One issue impacting downtown law enforcement on Davis’ beat is the
presence of 30 private, non-union rent-a-cops from Portland Patrol,
Inc. (PPI)—paid for by the Portland Business Alliance—whose
responsibilities are often confused in the eyes of the community with
those of real police officers. But Chief Rosie Sizer says PPI is not
the problem.
“It’s not just about PPI,” she says. “Privatization of security has
been a phenomenon that’s been taking place for decades now and it’s a
reflection of people’s need for security being higher than the
government is able to deliver. And honestly, police officers are
expensive.”
In Sizer’s eyes, the real problem is the bureau’s “archaic
recruitment system,” which has not changed since she was recruited in
1987. The background and hiring process in Portland currently takes
over a year, compared with just two to three months in Hillsboro, and
an average of three months in Gresham, according to those police
departments—two local competitors to which Portland is losing
applicants eager to start their careers. Sizer hired civilian recruiter
Sean Murray six months ago to streamline Portland’s hiring process.
“The goal is six months or less [for the background and hiring
process],” she says. “I’ve not given [Murray] a deadline, but I hope
and expect we’ll achieve it in the next year.”
Murray could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, Police union
boss Robert King lays the blame for the bureau’s recruitment struggles
squarely at Mayor Tom Potter’s door.
“When he was police chief, the mayor said he needed 200 more
officers to do community policing,” says King. “It’s interesting now
that he is commissioner, we’re down 50 officers since he was chief.
Apparently he does not see the need for more officers today.”
Sizer says the mayor’s office has been supportive of her efforts to
streamline the recruitment process, and doesn’t appear to share King’s
animosity toward Potter.
“Police agencies across the country are experiencing the same
shortages we are,” says John Doussard, Potter’s spokesman. “Plus
Portland is experiencing an unprecedented number of retirements.”
Part of the problem is that when word gets out, among civilians and the general population that applying for employment with the PPB is not always rewarded, because of an especially difficult secondary background check, men and women feel they probably won’t pass the Statement of Personal History part of the process or won’t be able to come up with eight rock solid references. When the PPB makes it so difficult for police officers to be hired, is it any wonder we don’t have enough officers to man the streets of Portland Oregon? It shouldn’t be, its simple math, for anyone in the know. The PPB needs to understand that police are just people and future police officers are also just people, full of imperfections, problems and such. If the PPB wants perfection, among its applicants, then they will never be satisfied, because perfection simply does not exist, in any aspect of life. Until the PPB softens its requirements for potential officers, then police officer shortages are going to continue to be a problem. Its just that simple, I’m sorry to say.