It’s becoming harder and harder for Portland to attract—and retain—new police officers.
In a recent analysis of the police bureau’s finances by the City Budget Office (CBO), city economists say that the headline-grabbing problems plaguing the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) can all be traced back to this one issue.
As an example, the CBO points to the city’s recent surge in 911 calls. In the past five years, Portland’s 911 call volume has increased by more than 25 percent, while PPB’s number of sworn officers has remained the same. To meet the demand of responding to the increased calls (the vast majority of which, it should be noted, are made to complain about an “unwanted person” or “disturbance,” and not actual crimes in progress), Police Commissioner and Mayor Ted Wheeler passed a 2018-19 budget that included increasing the number of on-patrol PPB officers by 49.
