Portland PD’s Response to Homelessness

 

Image source: Ellis, Rebecca. “Half Of PPB's 2017-18 Arrests Were Of People Experiencing Homelessness.” opb.org, July 17, 2019, https://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-police-homeless-arrests-half-review-2018/.


Overall 2020 has been a year of great societal turmoil, particularly in metropolitan areas such as Portland which have been focal points for social justice advocacy. Since the killing of George Floyd back in May of this year, the public’s attention has shifted once again on the corruption of law enforcement. While the many cases of misconduct in law enforcement involve racial prejudice, many marginalized communities are affected by police behavior as well, such as the homeless.


According to yearly studies by The Oregonian, in the past three years more than fifty percent of arrests in the Portland area were of people living on the streets. This is a troubling statistic in and of itself, but one could truly understand the severity of the issue when considering the fact that less than 5 percent of the population is currently homeless. When taking into account that homeless people are but a fraction of the total population and yet make up the majority of arrests indicate a blatant bias in law enforcement towards homeless people. A bias which is akin to the obvious prejudice seen in law enforcement's treatment of people of color nationwide.


The solution to the homeless crisis does not lie in an endless cycle of jail bookings but rather access to affordable housing. If the Portland Police Department was in partnership with local shelters and organizations that facilitate affordable housing such as Transition Projects, then there may be progress towards diminishing the number of people living on the streets.


If you would like to inform yourself further on the subject:

2019 Portland Police Bureau Review

The Oregonian Report


If you know, or are a person in need of shelter, there are resources here:

Transition Projects