Portland has 1.2 officers per 1000 people. National average in 2020 was 2.4 officers per 1000 people
By Dan Tilkin and Amanda Arden, November 9, 2021
The number of Portland Police Bureau sworn members is the fewest it’s been since 1989.
There are currently 788 sworn members combating record shootings and murders, confronting anarchists breaking windows and property, dealing with far left and far right groups squaring off in the city, crime in homeless camps and a rash of stolen cars.
Portland, which once proudly called itself “The City that Works,” is struggling to keep up with crime.
Police staffing numbers in Portland have dwindled since the movement to defund police in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Now, as the union is calling on city officials to double the police force, Mayor Ted Wheeler and city councilors are left to decide what to do to ensure the city “works” for everyone again.
