Portland faces record levels of gun violence and homicide. As of July 21, there have been 91 homicides in Portland in the past year, and from January through July 27 there were 688 shootings according to Portland police. While this rise is part of a nationwide spike in violent crime, including rising homicides and gun violence, budget cuts initiated in 2020 fuel speculation that a reduced-capacity bureau is the cause for the crime spike.
But two years after an initial push to defund the Portland Police Bureau, City Council approved a record $249 million PPB Budget — an amount more than $12 million higher than it was in fiscal year 2019-2020 before the racial justice protests of 2020 factored into budgeting discussions. While discussion of defunding was central, and accompanied by intense debate, police criticism and protests, the Portland Police Bureau only saw a brief dip in funding.
PPB’s total $225.5 million budget in the 2020-2021 fiscal year — covering July 2020 through June 2021 — was still the third-largest in bureau history at the time, trailing only the 2019-2020 budget by $11.4 million (4.8%), and 2018-2019 by $6.2 million (2.7%).
In total, since 2012-2013, when violent crime was at near-record lows in Portland according to FBI statistics, PPB’s budget increased by 47%, while the population increased by 12%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Experts, studies and the city’s own data show the link between police funding and crime rates is, at best, inconclusive.
Funds reverted to PPB
In 2020, when Portland was an epicenter for racial justice protests zeroing in on police brutality, social justice advocates rallied around defunding efforts. At the time, some community advocates demanded the city reroute $50 million of the PPB budget to community led initiatives and non-police public safety agencies. In June of that year, City Council members voted 5-1 to eliminate $15 million from the upcoming 2020-2021 Portland Police Bureau budget. Despite budget cuts, in 2020 more than $6 million was spent on officer overtime for policing protests.
Ultimately, PPB’s 2020-2021 actual budget decreased by $11.4 million from the previous fiscal year, a Street Roots analysis found.
The budget cuts eliminated officers from schools and TriMet, and eight positions from the Special Emergency Reaction Team. The Gun Violence Reduction Team, or GVRT, shown to target people of color by a wide margin, was also disbanded. (In 2019, the GVRT made 1,600 stops and more than half targeted Black people, despite Black people making up less than 6% of Portland’s population.)
PPB’s budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 outpaced the $205.2 million average from 2012-2013 through 2021-2022 — as has been the case each year since PPB funding jumped from $200.2 million to $215.8 million in 2017-2018.
During this time, the city allocated $4.8 million to Portland Street Response, a program designed to circumvent police handling of people experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises by providing an alternative response. Originally piloted in the Lents neighborhood, the program service area expanded twice in 2021 in an effort to keep up with the volume of calls received, and March 8, the program expanded citywide.
Still, PPB’s budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 outpaced the $205.2 million average from 2012-2013 through 2021-2022 — as has been the case each year since PPB funding jumped from $200.2 million to $215.8 million in 2017-2018.
Budget cuts
While the Portland Police Bureau saw $15 million removed from its initial proposed 2020-2021 budget, the police force was not alone in facing budget cuts. All city bureaus weathered COVID-related cuts. In 2020, the city cut $8.5 million from each city bureau’s budget. The following year, the city predicted a loss of $75 million in tax revenue as a result of the pandemic.
While PPB maintains it is chronically understaffed, the police bureau still consumes a significant part of the city’s general fund. Though, how much exactly is unclear due to the city’s accounting system. PPB receives some funding through contracts with other city entities funded with general funds. The city did not have these numbers available.
Street Roots’ general fund analysis is based on the amount of discretionary general funds received directly by PPB, according to City Budget Office records.
In 2019-2020 PPB received at least 33% of the city’s general fund. In the following budget year, 2020-2021, the year of the apocryphal PPB defunding, PPB again claimed at least 33% of the general fund.
In 2021-2022, this number dipped just 4%, with PPB absorbing at least 29% of the general fund.
In the most recent 2022-2023 adopted budget, PPB is poised to claim at least 30% of the city’s general fund.
Budget amounts refer to the city’s general fund, the segment of the budget composed of revenue — primarily tax dollars — allocated by city government. The total city budget is not used in this comparison because it includes varied funding sources that often have specific spending requirements.
Crime and funding
Two years since the apex of 2020 protests, PPB’s budget is higher than ever. In fiscal year 2019-2020, PPB was funded at $236.8 million. The approved 2022-2023 budget climbed to $249 million, an increase of just over $12 million.
In Portland, gun-related crime spiked significantly since the onset of the pandemic. In 2020, the number of shootings jumped from 199 to 264, according to PPB. In 2021, PPB reported the number of shootings surged to 582. Already in 2022, police say there have been more than 688 shootings.
While police funding has waxed and waned in recent years within the city, the correlation between funding rates and crime isn’t clear cut. Surging violent crime is a nationwide issue in cities that never reduced police budgets, even for a brief window, as was the case in Portland. Speculation on the cause of current crime spikes points to mounting political tension, poverty and pandemic frustrations. At the same time, consistent annual population growth in Portland also contributed to a rise in the number of crimes. In the past 10 years, Portland’s population has grown from 584,000 to 653,000 — roughly 69,000 more residents.
According to Kris Henning, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Portland State University, the causes of crime are many and complex, and extend far beyond the size of a police force. The variables, Henning said, run the gamut from individual level factors (like impulsivity), to family influences (such as parental criminality, parenting, family size and structure, poverty), to community factors (like perception of social control, crime rates and social disorder) and beyond.
“I would hesitate to say that one thing is more important than any other,” Henning said. “Suffice it to say that criminal behavior is a very complex thing we should address at many different levels.”
Poverty, both absolute (not having food, shelter and basic needs met) and relative to others, is also associated with crime, Henning said.
There are myriad factors at play in criminal activity, Henning explained, and funding for a police force is only one of them. At the same time, research shows small changes in the number of officers don’t have a conclusive impact on crime. According to Henning, there isn’t any available data on the outcome of drastic reductions in police forces.
“How the police officers are used in a city may be more important than their raw (staffing) numbers,” Henning said, a fact that overlaps with budget questions, because budget increases don’t always equate to more officers anyway — they often go to personnel needs such as health care, disability, retirement and cost of living increases.
Budgets also don’t reflect the numerous demands of the job, much of which isn’t directly spent on crime prevention.
“The police have other roles in our society than just addressing crime,” Henning said. “Requests for service that are generated by the public take up much of their time, and for many communities, these calls for service have risen significantly over the past few decades.”
Portland Police Bureau pushes for more staff
The Portland Police Bureau decried staffing shortages for years prior to the cuts and historic personnel drops of 2020. PPB’s authorized sworn staffing levels dropped from 916 to 882 so far this year. Currently, 552 of these authorized sworn positions are filled, which is 9% below the five-year average, according to the City Budget Office. In a push to recruit more officers, PPB requested more than $15 million in the 2022-2023 budget for hiring new officers.
While some recent staffing shortages were linked to the budget, others resulted from higher rates of retirement and officers quitting the force at a time when police officers faced ongoing protests, increased calls for accountability and high levels of stress, according to PPB.
Still, a replenished PPB budget shows a police bureau beleaguered by rising violent crime and other criminal activity linked to financial strain and poverty.
Early in July, PPB released its annual report detailing crime and police activity. Among the findings, the report notes continued rises in gun activity, gang activity and a dramatic rise in car thefts. PPB also released statistics for 2021 traffic and non-traffic stops. The data shows PPB traffic stops dropped 44%, but people of color were stopped at higher rates than ever before.
At an East Precinct annual report meeting July 13, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said the police force was still recovering from the challenges of the pandemic, protracted protest activity, and a spike in resignations resulting from criticism and increased accountability following protests.
“It's been a difficult two years for many people, and here at the police bureau I can say the challenges have been the most significant of our careers,” Lovell said.
Lovell emphasized continued staffing challenges and the loss of personnel as core obstacles moving forward.
Since July 2020, PPB has seen the departure of 104 sworn officers. Additionally, a “new wave” of departures this month meant the loss of an additional 46 officers. In 2021, PPB hired 26 officers, in addition to hiring another 14 so far this year.
PPB is working to hire new recruits, but hires have not matched the rate of departure, Lovell said.
Racism and abuse of power not ranked as priority concern
Notably, the annual report did not list addressing internal racism or discriminatory policing as priorities, despite these issues being the catalyst for a portion of the ultimately nominal 2020-2021 budget cuts. When noting accomplishments at the conference, Lovell listed racial equity, referencing the equity and inclusion team, hiring an equity training specialist, creating active bystandership for law enforcement, engaging with community partners to provide linguistic and cultural guidance, and creating a video series on language and cultural awareness for bureau members.
Lovell also noted the office of equity of inclusion “reached out to our Asian community members to ensure their representation,” which resulted in the creation of the Asian Pacific Islander Advisory Council in March of 2021.
Lovell emphasized that trust building and community policing were priorities for the PPB, but again cited staffing issues as barriers to these goals.
“Staffing dramatically affects our ability to engage in effective community policing,” Lovell said. “And as I've been saying since taking this job, building community trust is a top priority for this organization that requires relationships which take time to cultivate. Without proper staffing our officers simply don't have the time necessary to build those vital relationships.”
The most explicit reference to police abuses of power occurred at the close of a presentation heavily focused on the impacts of understaffing and crime rates. A member of the public identified as “momsap” on Zoom expressed concern for a lack of attention on issues like racism within the force.
“I'm concerned because I know I don't have my mind always working the way I want, but it sounded like Chief Lovell was saying the number one concern and priority was staffing, not police brutality, racism, incompetence, corruption, violence,” momsap said. “The point is not numbers of people, but what are you trying to accomplish.”
In response, Lovell circled back to staffing issues.
“I do think all those other things you mentioned are important, (...) that’s why I emphasize things like the able training, wellness,” Lovell said. “Staffing is an important challenge for us because at the end of the day we have to be there to answer calls for service when people call us. And if we don't have enough officers to do that then we can't accomplish our actual mission of keeping the city safe.”
Editor's note: A previous version of this story erroneously stated there were 91 homicides in Portland this year as of July 21. Street Roots regrets this error.
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