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An UnArmed Police Force.

grumpygy
quote:Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler plans to bring a new policing pilot program before City Council for final approval on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

The Public Safety Support Specialists, or PS3s, will be non-sworn officers who do not carry guns.

"They will be engaged in the community in non-emergency calls, so that's things like property crimes, break-ins," Wheeler tells WW.

The PS3s grew out of a proposal in the 2016 police union contract approved under then-Mayor Charlie Hales to create Community Service Officers who would respond to minor property crimes and nuisance calls, among other things.

To fund the program, Wheeler cut the Mounted Patrol?cops on horseback?from the 2017-2018 city budget. A year later, City Council set a January 1, 2019, deadline to implement the PS3s. While none of the PS3s will be hired by that date, the Portland Police Bureau says it will begin processing some background checks for potential hires in January.

The police union has been in formal negotiations with the city over the new positions since July. Portland Police Association president Daryl Turner says the PS3s will not respond to calls for service without a sworn officer, but they may provide support by manning the front desks at precincts or waiting for tow trucks at car accidents.

City Council will vote on whether to ratify the agreement between the city and the union, the last step necessary before the Portland Police Bureau can launch the hiring process.
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Comments

14 comments

Date Votes
  • cbxjeff
    Sure, sign me up for that program.
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  • droptop
    New program, new name: Police Farce.[:D]
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  • spasmcreek
    police farce is correct...the criminals will all have a special night at a bar to celebrate....wait till the first jr g-man gets shot dead or run over waving his little red STOP sign....only in oregone america
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  • bustedknee
    As long as they pass a law making it illegal to shoot an unarmed officer...there should be no problem.
    Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahplop (Laughed my butt off)
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  • Ditch-Runner
    great the mayor should lead by example show how peaceful the calls will be by riding along or making the first runs by him self until , robbed ,shot or beat up ..or combination platter is served to him [}:)]
    then see how fast his mind is changed
    sorry POS
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  • grumpygy
    quote:Originally posted by Ditch-Runner
    great the mayor should lead by example show how peaceful the calls will be by riding along or making the first runs by him self until , robbed ,shot or beat up ..or combination platter is served to him [}:)]
    then see how fast his mind is changed
    sorry POS


    quote:The cost to Portland taxpayers for security guards to maintain order at City Hall has increased more than fivefold in less than two years, a review of city financial documents by The Oregonian has found.

    The central reasons for the increases: more ?protests and uncivil outbursts at City Hall,? an ?upsurge of city business disruption incidents? and ?enhanced needs? identified by the mayor?s bodyguards, city budget documents say.

    The increase in frequency and intensity of protests and disruptions at City Hall, and the resulting steep increase in the number of contract security personnel posted there, coincides with Mayor Ted Wheeler?s time in office. He was sworn in Jan. 1, 2017.

    In a statement, Wheeler?s office said the increased spending is to protect elected officials, employees, dignitaries and other visitors to City Hall, and is necessary given the escalating number of protests and direct threats to Wheeler.

    The mayor considered installing police officers at the building, the statement said, ?but when he saw the exorbitant cost, he opted for private security? because that option is cheaper.

    In 2016, the annual cost for City Hall guards and the mayor?s security detail was $175,811. This year?s security costs, by contrast, ballooned to $847,034 with a July vote of the city council. With the same vote, the council set aside another $400,000 for ?unanticipated events? requiring security through May 2019.

    At the time, Wheeler, Commissioner Nick Fish and David O?Longaigh, the city facilities manager, said the added funds were to pay for cost-of-living raises for the guards. That was misleading.

    Along with raises, the vote helped expand the roster of guards for City Hall and the mayor to 18, with 11 at full-time status. Records indicate there were three guards stationed there in 2016 and seven in 2017.

    ?The question today is simply whether we?re going to grant a cost-of-living increase. ? That is correct?? Fish asked O?Longaigh during the July meeting.

    ?That is correct, along with some other measures,? he replied.

    O?Longaigh said Thursday that cost-of-living raises negotiated by the guards? union constituted an ?enormous? portion of the July budget increase. Those raises made up $581,000 of the $2.9 million increase, about 20 percent of the total.

    When residents testifying about the proposed increase veered into criticism of the company that employs the guards, Wheeler admonished them to stay on topic.

    ?This is about the cost-of-living adjustment for the employees, so please keep your testimony focused on that,? the mayor said. (Guards are employees of mammoth private security firm G4S Security Systems, not city employees.)

    Officials further expanded spending on guards in 2018 even as the number of protests dropped off.

    ?Year to date security incidents at City Hall appear to have fallen? compared to the spike in 2017, a city budget analyst wrote this year. The analyst said it was unclear if the drop off was due to the additional guards or ?external factors.?

    Officials had to dip into rainy day funds to pay for the additional armed and unarmed guards and their supervisors.

    Beefed-up security ?may be warranted to ensure both tenants and the public?s sense of safety when accessing City Hall,? the analyst wrote. Yet the increase ?is too substantial to be covered by the City Hall operations and maintenance budget,? the analyst said.

    Officials approved spending reserve funds earmarked for building upkeep to help pay the guard bill.

    City Hall is quiet most days. Uniformed and plainclothes guards watch City Hall entryways, monitor security cameras and wave people through turnstiles after a bag search and scan with a metal-detecting wand. Other guards follow the mayor wherever he goes.

    Turnstiles were first installed more than a decade ago during Mayor Tom Potter?s tenure. Mayor Charlie Hales took them out; Wheeler brought them back and instituted the metal detectors and bag-check policy.

    The increasingly uncivil unrest at City Hall has led city employees and, privately, elected officials to report they feel unsafe at work. One aide to Fish even said he retired because the protests set off his post-traumatic stress disorder.

    When the occasional protest erupts at City Hall, the guards are empowered to do little else than tell the unruly to leave or call the police.

    Consider the bedlam on Aug. 8. Left-wing protesters upset over police conduct stormed City Hall as the council began a meeting. One man, wearing a baseball helmet and a black bandana over his face, repeatedly smacked a security guard in the head with a megaphone. Police soon arrived, but no one was arrested for the assault, which was caught on video.

    City officials went to lengths to keep information about spending on City Hall security from public view.

    After The Oregonian inquired about spending for the mayor?s bodyguards, Heather Hafer, an Office of Management and Finance office spokeswoman, said the information is not public. She directed the reporter to file a public records request, though The Oregonian had not asked for documents.

    ?Simply put, we cannot release this information due to security concerns,? Hafer said.

    The reporter insisted the information is in fact public. Hafer responded in an email, ?We will not disclose information about the mayor?s security detail, nor are we required to.?

    The reporter then filed a public records request for budget records related to the mayor?s security detail. In response, the city released 91 pages of documents.

    But one file was missing: a detailed document called a rate schedule, which shows number of guards, weekly hours each is to work and the hourly wage agreed to in July, when the city council added $2.9 million to the contract for security at City Hall and more than a half dozen other city buildings. The page where it should have been was blank except for ?Insert rate schedule here.?

    A reporter filed a subsequent records request for the document, but Hafer said the information likely was not public. A reporter then emailed Michael Cox, Wheeler?s chief of staff, and Tom Rinehart, the city chief administrative officer, to say he would file a public records appeal with the district attorney. Hafer released the rate schedule the following day.

    Hafer later said the city?s intention was not to withhold public documents but to protect confidential information.

    The very same Mayor.
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  • capgun
    Good idea. Here we have CSOs, they are report takers. They respond to cold calls only, and if something does not seem right they back off and call an officer. But they do not respond to calls with known suspects or suspects at the scene. The cops love it. They do not like being armed secretaries, doing volumes of paperwork. In fact, for most misdemeanors and many felonies the RP can do a report online. We have uniformed volunteers who tow vehicles after accidents, direct traffic, do house watches, and do perimeter control at crime scenes. Very time consuming activities. All of this allows sworn officers the ability to remain in service to respond to in progress calls.
    http://www.sjpd.org/bfo/community/cso/
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  • shilowar
    In other words, they are not police, they are civilian employees that take complaints. No different than a planning or zoning enforcement employee. I suppose it is a cheaper alternative in large metro areas to have them take property crime and nuisance complaints rather than tying up LE. They have no authority. Not a job I'd want but I suppose if it takes the burden off road officers, freeing them up to deal with the violence so be it.
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  • SW0320
    quote:Originally posted by Ditch-Runner
    great the mayor should lead by example show how peaceful the calls will be by riding along or making the first runs by him self until , robbed ,shot or beat up ..or combination platter is served to him [}:)]
    then see how fast his mind is changed
    sorry POS


    A good example for the Mayor would be to use these guys for the Mayors security detail.
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  • jwb267
    we had something similar to that her in my area. it was called DEPUTY RESERVES. as far as I know they were UNPAID volunteers.
    they were used to direct traffic, watch school crossings, interact with community events etc.
    that worked well for about a year until a few started acting like they had authority, such as trying to detain people and waving people over that would possibly be speeding entering a school zone. one reserve grabbed a woman and kissed her stating he
    was wearing a uniform that it would be ok
    the sheriffs office got so many complaints it was disbanded
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  • capgun
    quote:Originally posted by shilowar
    In other words, they are not police, they are civilian employees that take complaints. No different than a planning or zoning enforcement employee. I suppose it is a cheaper alternative in large metro areas to have them take property crime and nuisance complaints rather than tying up LE. They have no authority. Not a job I'd want but I suppose if it takes the burden off road officers, freeing them up to deal with the violence so be it.
    That is correct. Just like the topic the OP started that most everyone is criticizing. Why have a sworn officer taking up time writing a graffiti report, waiting for a tow truck, or directing traffic at a fire. Cops need to stay in service and available.
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  • capgun
    quote:Originally posted by jwb267
    we had something similar to that her in my area. it was called DEPUTY RESERVES. as far as I know they were UNPAID volunteers.
    they were used to direct traffic, watch school crossings, interact with community events etc.
    that worked well for about a year until a few started acting like they had authority, such as trying to detain people and waving people over that would possibly be speeding entering a school zone. one reserve grabbed a woman and kissed her stating he
    was wearing a uniform that it would be ok
    the sheriffs office got so many complaints it was disbanded
    You are doing a great disservice with your disrespect for Police Reserves. Everywhere I know of, Reserves are armed, sworn officers, with full police powers when on duty. They have state mandated training requirements. They are unpaid volunteers, and are held to the same standard as paid officers. The more trained CSOs, volunteers(VIPS), and Reserve Officers that are on the street, the safer a community is. Even though CSOs and non sworn volunteers(VIPS) do not take enforcement action, they are eyes and ears, are radio equipped, and can report criminal and safety activity to dispatch.
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  • Wrangler
    Lol. What fools. Can't tell you how many times a "routine" call turned bad.
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  • capgun
    quote:Originally posted by Wrangler
    Lol. What fools. Can't tell you how many times a "routine" call turned bad.
    Yes, firemen, ambulance drivers, code enforcement officers, and building inspectors have been met with violence. VIPS and CSOs are trained and aware of potential dangers. Not a job for the timid and easily frightened, fearful souls need not apply. Same goes for sworn officers, although armed, many are killed and injured every year. If you are not a risk taker, find a nice soft protected job somewhere.
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