And he’s writing editorials for the Portland Tribune. The new police commissioner is a regular Che Guevara.
Specifically, I will build on the success of the service coordination team pilot program at work now in downtown’s Old Town neighborhood. This program has focused on arresting chronic drug and drug-related property crime offenders, then holding them in jail to provide much-needed services in order to end the cycle of addiction that drives their criminal behavior.
The program is also based on a list of offenders that remains secret, and is in the process of being challenged constitutionally in Multnomah County courts.
The results of the service coordination team pilot program speak for themselves: There has been a 71 percent reduction in the recidivism rate among the top 400 chronic offenders in downtown Portland since October of 2004. I will certainly look to expand this successful model to precincts that are experiencing increases in gang activity, prostitution and drug-related crimes.
Ends are worth the means, huh? That’s the same argument we were hearing from Randy Leonard’s office, until he forgot all about the program. Read more about it here. As with Saltzman’s ongoing support of the rent-a-cop firm, Portland Patrol, Inc., the commissioner, I suspect, is gambling on the fact that people really don’t care enough about the constitution or people’s civil rights, as long as the value of property in Old Town continues to go up because the police are able to harass those who are unsightly down there. Which is fine, because the commissioner is probably right. But this is all speculation, because he’s yet to grant the Mercury an interview about the rent-a-cop issue, and because he thinks he doesn’t have to talk to us, and again, he’s probably right…because we’re certainly not the top of his priority list:
As I transition to this new role, I want to state my complete confidence in those who serve in the Portland Police Bureau. It begins with the commendable leadership of Chief Rosie Sizer, but certainly doesn’t end there. I look forward to working with her and her team to ensure the safety of our citizens and businesses.
“Complete confidence?” Way to whip out the strong rhetoric, Dan. Strewth. You protect the businesses. Knock yourself over.
[Wipes hand down face…]
Also: Nowhere in the entire editorial does he mention Mayor Potter’s work on racial profiling. The last time we checked the numbers, a huge number of those on the secret list were black.
It’s not what you’re saying, Dan. It’s what you’re not saying. And you know it.
Saltzman likes symbology but not substance. Sponsor a protest of the PATRIOT Act? Sure. Support actual oversight of local cops on the JTTF? Hell no, that’s only for people who “distrust authority, hate police, and still think the FBI is run by J. Edgar Hoover” (as he said at the time).
So it’s hardly surprising he’s all for secret lists with no oversight right here in Portland.
You are such a dick Matt.
Saltman is right on. Open your eyes and be an actual reporter instead of just spouting your misinformed opinions!
Excuse me- Saltzman
Portland needs a Salt Man though to salt these danm roads…grave3l/sand is a joke!
A Cat reporting in.
Matt,
You do understand that majority of drug use in Old Town is crack cocaine, correct? And the current model of delivery of crack cocaine is street dealing, just like the model of delivery for heroin is vehicle delivery. And, like it or not, blacks use crack cocaine in higher numbers than whites. Just like more white people use meth. I don’t want to mess with your bully pulpit here, but you sure seem adept at trying to find fault without ever really going deeply into the issue. I know you consider yourself the premiere guy in town for uncovering all the drama of the police bureau, but sometimes the drama makes you seem kind of small and self-serving.
Don’t give Matt facts…he doeasn’t care. He just wants to keep making his opinions into “news” stories.
What is really funny is that both the Oregonian and the Willamette Week have beat him on some huge stories lately. Matt just doesn’t want to know the truth.
You’re doing great, Matt. Keep it up!
And of course no one wants to make a secret list of meth offenders, right JP?
Saltzman is quoting numbers that the city is afraid to actually share. This 71% is just some made up number. Show us the data Saltman. What? Your magic numbers are secret? In the real world we call that bullshit.
PS: All those commissioners are cowards for not wanting to actually talk about this issue and put the numbers out there for racial profiling and the whole secret list thing. I suggest the mercury give them a page to editorialize as they see fit, so long as there is a facing page with the criteria for the secret list and the results of being on the list and the actual list itself.
so the “facts” are that they should courtesy stop every black they see on the street in old town because crack is more common there? what about regular cocaine? do we stop everyone in the west hills?
Saltzman’s accommodating posture towards the bureau he is in charge of leaves many of us with a feeling of “complete confidence” that the fox really is in charge of the henhouse.
The PPB’s ability to bully City Hall has been demonstrated time and again.
The bright spot is that at least Saltzman is out in the open about what a pushover police commissioner he’ll be.
The stupid thing about it is that you know Saltzman’s reading this shit, it would be so easy for him to respond on this forum. One thing about Leonard, at least he’s not such a pussy that he can’t engage directly with the citizens he represents. The Internet makes it all the more obviously egregious when politicians and other figures of authority try to hide behind walls of silence. But then Saltzman wouldn’t want to “embarrass” any cops, would he? That would be a violation of contract! Who knew that Portland police had such thin skins, anyway?
“That said, with the current recession, it may become more difficult to maintain the level of livability we have come to expect.”
Hobos! Everywhere!
“Tackling these issues will certainly require a fully staffed police force, and one that receives proper training.”
Repeat after me, “The 80 pound schizophrenic made me feel threatened.”
“In light of what our city must be prepared for, this is unacceptable.”
Saltzman: prepping Portland’s police for the great Hobo riots of 2010.
#6,
Don’t know if there is a secret list of meth offenders, but again, the delivery model of meth makes it less apparent to the average citizen. The average person sees the effect of meth thru property crimes.
On the other hand, the crack cocaine trade in Old Town is very obvious to the average person. You can barely walk around down there without being offered dope or accosted. And that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. It causes “fear of crime” and generates complaints that police must address. As far as profiling goes, prostitutes on 82nd are more often white than not, so that is why the PFZ’s did not generate the same profiling accusations that DFZ’s do. But it still generates many, many citizen complaints and hence is allocated a lot of police resources.
Crime like Craigslist prostitution and heroin or meth dealing is not given as much attention simply because it is less in the face of the average person. I’m not sure its so much about the color of the criminal as it is conspicuous nature of the crime.
Matt, “strewth” isn’t a word in the country you’re living in. Now that you’ve given up on “thinking clearly” or “addressing criticism”, it seems like general clarity is the last thing you have left to fuck up. Nicely done.
JP: You can barely walk around down there without being offered dope or accosted.
What? I walk through Old Town all the time. I get hit up for spare change all the time, but offered dope? Nope, never.
Yeah, JP, I also have to call bs on the concept that people are being accosted and offered “dope” or any drugs at all. Are drugs there? Sure, but no one is walking up to folks out of the blue and saying “hey, would you like to purchase some narcotics?”
The only time anything like that occurs is in Officer McMurray’s fictional police reports he writes to justify tackling someone or injuring them.
In general, the drug dealers keep it low key enough to try to avoid attention while being available to customers.
I disagree, but I can only speak for my personal experience. No doubt if you are white, clean, healthy and stare at the ground like people out of their element often do, you may be spared. Dirty up a bit and actually look someone in the eye and you’ll likely be able to buy all the tasty crack you want.