The only source for quantitative data on homeless encampment sweeps in Portland is the city agency responsible for conducting those sweeps — or most of them, more accurately. Which, in itself, is cause for concern in terms of transparency and accountability.
As anyone who lives, works or shops downtown may well know, the city recently increased reliance on another, entirely unreported process for sweeps — “structure abatements” by the Portland Police Bureau. In March, Street Roots reported on emails showing police abatements were used to make way for an outdoor market after business owners appealed directly to city leaders.
Unlike the sweeps ordered by the Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program, a mouthful of an agency name usually abbreviated to HUCIRP, no weekly report detailing sweeps, cleanups or “engagements,” is published by the police. Police sweeps also lack the same directives requiring unhoused Portlanders receive at least 72 hours notice prior to removal.
The increased reliance on police sweeps presents a host of concerns ranging from the fact that unhoused people are much, much more likely to be arrested than housed people, to the obvious lack of transparency and objectivity touted by the city when discussing the work of HUCIRP. (Even the objectively more transparent activities of HUCIRP are regularly called into question by those most likely to be affected by those activities.)
The order for a recent sweep of unhoused Portlanders at West Burnside Street and Southwest Third Avenue came directly from Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office in advance of a parade, according to police at the scene. The people living on the sidewalk outside the new Street Roots offices were given no advance notice. The same is true for an untold number of other unhoused Portlanders unfortunate enough to lay their head along the future parade route in Old Town.
Right, wrong or indifferent, encampment sweeps are a prominent tool in addressing the homelessness crisis in Portland. Accountability and transparency, however, is firmly within the public interest. Street Roots’ new Sweep Tracker, a project with much reliance on reader engagement and crowdsourcing, is a step toward the accountability and transparency the public deserves.
By emailing sweeptracker@streetroots.org with 1) a photo of a sweep posting, 2) the date of the post, 3) the location of the sweep posting, and 4) the approximate number of people or tents at the site, you can contribute to independent monitoring and strengthen Street Roots’ reporting.
Beginning June 1, Street Roots will begin intaking and confirming reports for the Sweep Tracker.
By June 8, Street Roots will publish those confirmed reports on a real-time open-source database on its website.
By reporting an encampment sweep posting, whether the garden variety HUCIRP notice, or an abatement notice from police, the public will help maximize the impact of the Sweep Tracker. The Sweep Tracker, a component of The Orange Fence Project, is not designed to capture every single encampment sweep within city limits but will add crucial context around homelessness, policy and enforcement.
The Sweep Tracker will host reports of confirmed police sweeps and HUCIRP sweeps (rather than just HUCIRP) and when appropriate, allow for comparison with data provided by the city. The Sweep Tracker also improves our reporting and allows Street Roots’ reporters to follow up with unhoused Portlanders about their experiences.
Street Roots is an award-winning weekly publication focusing on economic, environmental and social justice issues. The newspaper is sold in Portland, Oregon, by people experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty as means of earning an income with dignity. Street Roots newspaper operates independently of Street Roots advocacy and is a part of the Street Roots organization. Learn more about Street Roots. Support your community newspaper by making a one-time or recurring gift today.
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