Dan Springer reports on the fallout from Portland s police cuts amid a surge in violent crime.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler flinched. In the midst of an unprecedented monthslong surge in gun violence and homicides, Wheeler compromised with the Portland City Council and backed off from his request that the Portland Police Bureau be appropriated $2 million in emergency funding. Instead, Wheeler and the commissioners voted to spend $6 million on grants to community groups already receiving funding and hire 24 park rangers. What we’re doing today is starting a pathway towards making sure that we’re investing dollars where they make the most good, said Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. We’re also at the front end of transforming our police department.
by Alex Zielinski • Apr 7, 2021 at 4:36 pm DRAFTFOLIO / GETTY IMAGES
Portland City Council responded to an alarming uptick in local gun violence by unanimously passing a $6 million emergency budget package on Wednesday.
The proposal finances grants for community-based organizations that work directly with Portlanders impacted by gun violence, significantly expands Portland s park ranger program, and funds crime data collection and analysis. It does not include any additional funding for the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), a solution initially suggested by Mayor Ted Wheeler in March. This proposal goes beyond just enforcement to invest in upstream solutions and tackle disparities faced by many of the impacted communities at their roots, and replacing and rebuilding it with a system that supports them, said Commissioner Carmen Rubio during the Wednesday council meeting.
The plan proposes the following:
• The Portland Police Bureau will internally realign resources to gain the patrol, analytic and investigative capacities PPB says it needs to combat gun violence.
• PPB will immediately add six additional assault investigative detectives and one sergeant to coordinate gun-related investigations working in partnership with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
• The city’s new community safety transition director will lead the development of the gun violence prevention response plans and the community safety plan.
• $1.4 million will go to Portland Parks and Recreation to expand the Park Ranger Program. This will add 24 ranger patrols to be unarmed goodwill presences from May through December 2021.
Community groups react to Portland s $6 million plan to curb violence localnews8.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localnews8.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.