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In December 2020, the Portland Police Bureau essentially disbanded its traffic division, moving all full-time traffic officers to different assignments. The decision stemmed in part from a shortage of cops, and occurred amid greater scrutiny of racial disparities in drivers police pulled over.
Since then, the number of fatal collisions has been rising. In 2022, Portland saw 68 fatal crashes, which is the most on record since 1987, according to PPB. Thirty-two of those crashes killed people on foot, which was the most on record since 1948. As WW noted last summer, that spike occurred as traffic stops plunged.
And so, a predictable denouement: PPB announced the return of its traffic division Tuesday. Fourteen officers will begin working traffic starting Thursday, May 11. An additional eight officers will work traffic for the month of May in order to help with increased demand during the Rose Festival.
Police Chief Chuck Lovell says 10 officers on motorcycles, two officers in cars, and two sergeants will be assigned to traffic. The traffic division will operate seven days a week.
The Police Bureau is well above its pandemic-era staffing lows and is slated to receive most of the city’s excess general fund. But Lovell stressed this does not signal an end to PPB’s staffing struggles.
“I want to let people know that we’re not making this move out of abundance, or an excess of officers,” the chief said at the press conference Tuesday. “This move is very important, but it will impact the precincts as well.”
Despite the rising rate of fatal crashes, some advocacy groups remain concerned about the presence of PPB traffic officers—especially since fewer overall traffic stops have not affected the racial disparity.
“Racial bias in traffic enforcement in Portland is a well-documented reality, and traffic stops can be unsafe for police, as well,” Sarah Iannarone, executive director of Street Trust, said in a statement today. “Our hope is that any additional capacity to Portland Police Bureau’s traffic division will go directly toward solving the most violent traffic offenses committed.”
At the press event, Sgt. Ty Engstrom laid out the new priorities of PPB’s traffic division: responding to 911 calls related to traffic; detecting, investigating and processing DUIIs; enforcing traffic laws in high-crash areas; and training newly hired officers how to enforce traffic laws.
While the bureau has retained four traffic investigators since 2020, the lack of full-time traffic officers has resulted in fewer investigations into serious traffic violations like hit-and-runs and DUIIs, Engstrom said.
“Our DUII arrest numbers over the last few years have been dramatically low,” Enstrom said. “That’s not from a lack of DUII drivers.”