Portland’s police chief announces a plan to curb criminal behavior this election season

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — As political tensions simmer between the left and the right, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is conducting preventative measures and coordinating with the city and other law enforcement partners, among a variety of other measures, to keep the community safe.

“My message to those who wish to engage in criminal behavior is that we will stop that behavior,” said Portland Police Chief Bob Day.

Community members tell us they’re worried about a repeat of 2020.

“Another repeat of the riots, the looting and all the craziness that happened last time affected my job and my ability to work in the area just because all the roads were closed,” Mendoza said.

Chief Bob Day says one change this time is more bikes.

He says bikes give them a nimble response. They are also looking for ways to improve their rapid response.

“We hired the Independent Monitor LLC to give us a complete overview of all of our tactics and responses so we can build on a new program this year that I believe makes us better suited to respond to demonstrations,” Chief Day said .

In our conversations with Portland police officials, we consistently heard that staffing was a problem. So we asked Chief Day how he plans to implement these changes in the face of a lack of employees

“So you know staffing continues to be a challenge for us. We have about 800 officers, and in 2019 we had over a thousand. So you know we continue to be behind the curve on staffing, that’s why I exercised the authority.” “We need to get everyone on those mandatory 12-hour shifts and eliminate days off to maximize everyone’s availability in the office said Chief Day.

Dr. Randall Blazak of Cure PNW, a group that works to prevent political violence, tells us that he spoke with Chief Bob Day about possible strategies to reduce political violence.

He tells us that today there is more trust in the electoral process and that people talk to each other more about things they disagree about.

“We have more people talking to people who have a different opinion than they would at their local church or workplace because they are actually physically back at work, unlike 2020,” Dr. Blazak. “The danger lies with the people on the margins, the people who are marginalized when we think about militias or extremist groups, and people who really hold to the idea that violence is the legitimate expression of political discontent.”

If you or a loved one are concerned about becoming violent, you can contact the hotline listed on the Cure PNW website.