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A Portland Program Intended to Reduce Police Interactions With People in Crisis Is Off to a Slow Start 911 dispatchers at the Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications aren’t sending the new team as many calls as it could handle.
CALL AND RESPONSE: Some residents in the Southeast Portland neighborhood of Lents say they want more police response to homeless camps and occupied vehicles, not less. (Wesley Lapointe)
Updated April 14 at 5:40 AM
A groundbreaking program designed to siphon 911 calls away from police is off to a sluggish start in East Portland—in part because it isn't being sent many calls by emergency dispatchers.