Site Navigation

Houseless Portlanders Face Uncertain
Future as New Mayor Arrives
Change to Downtown Private Patrol
Involving Portland Police Takes Root in June

Nearly every candidate running for Portland City Council acknowledged that many voters were expressing frustration with "the homeless crisis." The differences were whether they saw it as a problem of a city getting too expensive to live in or a problem that needs to be fixed by getting rid of houseless people. While City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez made it clear in his bid for mayor he preferred the latter, wanting police to crack down on camping, he lost to trucking magnate Keith Wilson. Wilson essentially had the same message as Gonzalez but packaged more nicely: I'll set up enough shelter beds so if people sleeping outside refuse to go in, police can arrest them. He said the plan to open more shelters means "we immediately get to enforce our codes... no camping, no makeshift shelters" (KGW-8TV, March 21). Nobody seems to have asked people in the houseless community what they need, including protection from angry members of the public, private security and the police. Wilson indicated his actions show "love," but how is it love to separate people from their children, pets and belongings?

Meanwhile, Downtown Clean and Safe (C&S), which for many years has used the fees collected from businesses (and residents) in the City's core to pay for four Portland Police Bureau (PPB) patrol officers, has slowly weaned the PPB off of their mercenary rolls. A contract between C&S and the Bureau signed in 2022 states the four officers' salaries would stop being paid in June 2024 and that a study through June 2025 would examine the impact of the change. In other words, the private security guards who used to be able to radio for immediate assistance because the business community was paying for extra police protection will have to wait in line like everyone else. This could be a good development, but the downside is that means a lot more of the "move alongs" will come from the truly private security, who have even fewer accountability mechanisms to ensure they are acting humanely.

The City's attitudes about criminalizing houseless people go against their stated core values including equity, community and fiscal responsibliity. The last value's definition indicates that budget decisions focus on "the needs of our most vulnerable populations."

In addition, the reversal by the Multnomah County Sheriff regarding putting people in jail whose only crime was violating the camping ordinance (PPR #93) has not been in the news much. After the first person was arrested and booked, data have not been easy to find about how often people are being criminalized for what Sheriff Morrissey-O'Donnell herself had orignally seemed to think was the crime of not having somewhere to sleep. PCW has learned that as of early December, only two people had been booked under the new law.

January, 2025
Also in PPR #94

Portland Copwatch
PO Box 42456
Portland, OR 97242
(503) 236-3065/ Incident Report Line (503) 321-5120
e-mail: copwatch@portlandcopwatch.org

Portland Copwatch is a grassroots, volunteer organization promoting police accountability through citizen action.

People's Police Report #94 Table of Contents
Back to Portland Copwatch home page
Peace and Justice Works home page
Back to top