Could it be they're committing half the crimes???

https://www.oregonlive.com/por...ml#incart_most-read_

Half the arrests in Portland last year were of homeless people. Mayor Ted Wheeler says that’s a problem

Updated Jul 13, 8:46 PM; Posted Jul 13, 8:45 PM

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Friday acknowledged it's a problem that half of the arrests that police made in Portland last year were of homeless people.

The mayor said people who are experiencing homelessness or who have mental health and addiction issues should have fewer interactions with police and more with social service providers.

He said he wants to know what's driving the statistics.

"The real question here is, 'Is there some sort of profiling or implicit bias?'" Wheeler said. "From my perspective, that's the crux of the situation. The police should be focused on policing criminal activity, and that's sort of the beginning, the middle and the end of it for me."

The remarks came during a meeting with The Oregonian/OregonLive's editorial board and were the most detailed the mayor has made since the newsroom published its findings last month.

The newsroom's analysis showed that homeless people accounted for 52 percent of arrests, while making up less than 3 percent of the population.

He spent an hour-long interview discussing a wide-range of issues related to homelessness, housing and policing. He painted a conflicting picture of how the city is responding to its homelessness crisis.

He said Portland is using the "right strategy" and the "proven strategy," to address the crisis and that cities along the West Coast "look to Portland for leadership."

But at the same time, he said homelessness in Portland has been increasing and that the criminal justice system too often plays the role of social service provider.

"The criminal justice system is not the right place -- or it shouldn't be the place of first resort to provide addiction or mental health services," Wheeler said. "It should happen elsewhere with no police and no judges and no juries and no jails."

Wheeler said he thinks most people agree with that.

"The question is how do we build the system?" he said.

Wheeler declined interview requests for the newsroom's initial story about the arrests of homeless people. During a wide-ranging interview on Monday, the mayor said he wanted to know how many of the arrests were related to calls from the public as opposed to contacts initiated by police. He also appeared to be dismissive of the findings at that time.

Asked about the disparity in arrests, Wheeler told a reporter during the Monday interview, "I could play with statistics with you all day long."

He continued, "We don't have enough information based on a newspaper article to come to a conclusion. Does it warrant further evaluation? Of course, it does. Certainly, it does."

On Friday, Wheeler called the newsroom's investigation a "very thorough and, I thought, provocative report," and he said he is taking it "very seriously."

After the newsroom's investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon called on Wheeler and Police Chief Danielle Outlaw to investigate whether officers are profiling people who are homeless.

This week, the city's police oversight agency, the Independent Police Review, said it has launched an inquiry into how police interact with homeless people in response to the newsroom's reporting and the ACLU's complaint. Outlaw requested the investigation.

"Chief Outlaw called for that," Wheeler said Friday. "I support it."

Wheeler said often before taking enforcement action, police first try to connect people with a social service provider. "Arrest is their last choice," he said.

Asked whether the arrest numbers should influence his budget priorities, Wheeler said they should. But he said he'd be reluctant to reduce funding for services that the city is responsible for to increase funding for mental health and addiction services with the county.

Wheeler said the city already increased funding for the police bureau's Behavioral Health Unit, which among other things pairs clinicians to work alongside police officers, and has increased training on implicit bias and de-escalation techniques. The city, he said, has added a homelessness liaison position for the police bureau to help officers develop strategies for working with people living on the streets.

Wheeler said he wants to decrease the interactions that homeless people and people who are suffering from mental health or addiction issues have with police.

"Police and firefighters are our first line of response for what is a social services catastrophe," Wheeler said. "The police should be addressing car break-ins and burglaries and things like that. And increasingly what they're doing is providing social services. The majority of police are not trained in the provision of social services."


Gordon Friedman of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

Is there are a breakdown of the arrests available? Public drunk, vagrancy, shoplifting, indecent exposure etc.? Also a comparison to the statistics of other cities would be helpful. Homeless people and drug addicts are certainly going to be arrested for these sorts of crimes than middle class suburbanites.

He is so out of touch with reality. A brave Portland PD officer called in to a radio show about this issue. 60% of their calls for service are for homeless issues. And guess what, if the call is someone passed out that is a high priority call due to the potential medical issue so burglarized citizens will just have to wait.

Profiling my ass, as if cops want to deal with this and go out of their way to do so.

Maybe they should arrest innocent people instead of those committing the crimes?

Police enforce the law, that's their job. Best way not to see back of cruiser is to not do drugs, defecate in public, steal, or cause public nuisances. If he doesn't like my arrest the innocent idea, maybe he can start an outreach program teaching homeless people not to shit, steal, or do drugs in public.

Fucking retard. No different than black arrest and incarceration stats. The fact that black people are over represented in jails is not some secret white supremacist conspiracy, it's that as a population they commit more crimes in average than any other group of people, save the homeless.

Simple liberal solution: Top arresting homeless people and the statistic will drop.

How about we arrest people who break the law regardless of their demographic?

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
How about we arrest people who break the law regardless of their demographic?

That's the stupidest shit I've ever heard in my life. What next? Probably going to suggest some other crazy ass idea like admitting students based on their academics and extracurricular activities not their skin color?!?!?

Good, let Portland continue to swirl in the toilet bowl - it and Seattle are already cesspools full of druggies, tweakers, and beggars.

Zero fucks - let them burn and make the point for us.

Sounds like the mayor ought to have social services providers in patrol cars interacting with the homeless. I'm sure a bunch of Sociology majors can fix up most of the problems, if they just get out there...right?

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
Sounds like the mayor ought to have social services providers in patrol cars interacting with the homeless. I'm sure a bunch of Sociology majors can fix up most of the problems, if they just get out there...right?

They cleared a homeless camp near here. Took out 30 tons of trash. Being nice,the officials:

“They were offered services. We even offered them jobs with labor people for a few months,” Troyer said.
He added that all their offers were rejected, including money to help clean up their own mess.
“Stolen bikes and toys and battery-powered cars (were left behind) -- and there is no children there. So it shows they were taking things not tied down in their neighborhood and stealing. We had one store that had 90 complaints in one month," Troyer said.”

https://q13fox.com/2018/06/01/...ead-sending-invites/

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Good, let Portland continue to swirl in the toilet bowl - it and Seattle are already cesspools full of druggies, tweakers, and beggars.

Zero fucks - let them burn and make the point for us.

I've posted about it so many times. Tacoma doesn't get the media time that San Francisco and Seattle do on the matter, but it's just as bad or worse, depending on where you go. I got a little heated with a Tacoma PD guy that finally showed up to numerous complaints about the fucking Circus Bacchus bullshit that we at work were repeatedly reporting via phone and the app after they refused to show up for two parents smoking some shit out of a Pepsi can while their toddler son stood between them in the car with the windows only cracked. They couldn't respond to the three people calling 911 for the kid getting clam-baked in a rolling meth den, but they were there in five minutes when I told them the place next door was pressure-washing a river of antifreeze down the street.

I wish I was making any of that shit up, but I was there.

quote:

"The real question here is, 'Is there some sort of profiling or implicit bias?'" Wheeler said. "From my perspective, that's the crux of the situation. The police should be focused on policing criminal activity, and that's sort of the beginning, the middle and the end of it for me."

That's where I had to stop reading. I went Mr. Wu from this scene right here, right there.

NOT WORK SAFE

The police are headed by Chief Outlaw.

There's strange irony there.

That the homeless are the primary target of policing shouldn't surprise any one. They are homeless for a reason.

I bet they also are the population arrested more often than others and are also the population most likely denied bail since there is no "tie to the community" and they are likely the least able to post their own bail or obtain a bond from a bondsman.

So how to correct that dynamic?

I submit a court that handles all cases related to straight up alcohol or drug use should have the ability to sentence these people to mandatory 90 day detoxification and treatment programs might be a start. And that for the first offense. Second time 180 days. Third time 364 days. The fourth time they are declared habitual offenders subject to felony-based incarceration lasting three years (like Virginia does to repeat drunk drivers).

The mentally ill would be placed into a similar instutionalized program where they are treated, and if unable to maintain themselves on their medications, they become permanently instutionalized.

This would have two effects. First some percentage, probably 5%, of those detoxified and treated will take up a new way of living. The others will relapse, get caught and sent up for longer stays. A few percent more may change their lives. Those that go a year less a day who relapse will eventually get the message and either stop using or will flee for browner environs like San Francisco or Seattle.

Now Portland will need to build new instutions to handle this approach. The funding can come from raising alcohol and marijuana taxation by 500%. Hundreds of new jobs will be created, jobs open only to those who've never had an alcohol or drug conviction.

In either case, Portlanders can sleep the sleep of the pious and the Portland police see a change in their crime statistics.

Simple solution: after you arrest them offer them a Greyhound ticket to Fleattle or San Francisco.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Simple solution: after you arrest them offer them a Greyhound ticket to Fleattle or San Francisco.

Pretty sure I remember reading that Portland is already doing that; called ‘A Ticket Home’.

Mayor Ted the chucklehead

Typical libtard response. Start pushing the cops to stop picking on “those poor homeless folk” and the good ones will move on to departments that are serious about proper policing. Portland will eventually have social workers with guns, and an escalating crime rate.

As they have K9 units they should have hobo units.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
Typical libtard response. Start pushing the cops to stop picking on “those poor homeless folk” and the good ones will move on to departments that are serious about proper policing. Portland will eventually have social workers with guns, and an escalating crime rate.

^^
Exactly what is still happening at my old dept...and if you look at the counties that voted for Hillary in NC you can find it in blue.

It sounded like the mayor was just defending himself from a newspaper article that was accusing the cops of profiling homeless people. He went on to say that cops aren't trained to be social workers and that social work-type calls take them away from real policing.
I thought he did a passable job of stating the problem, not throwing the cops under the bus, and walking the line so he doesn't piss off the liberals.
Not perfect, but some damned fine politicianing, right there. I don't envy him his job.

Bruce

quote:

He said Portland is using the "right strategy" and the "proven strategy," to address the crisis and that cities along the West Coast "look to Portland for leadership."

But at the same time, he said homelessness in Portland has been increasing

Liberal idiocy on display. It's the right strategy even though it doesn't work, and is making the problem even worse. Because feelings, or some shit.