Crime-ravaged Portland's police department has just 788 sworn cops - the lowest number since 1989, when the city's population was 35 per cent lower.
Worrying new official statistics show that the officers must try and police the city's 662,549 residents, meaning there is just 1.2 cops for every 1,000 people.
The number of cops has dropped by 146 from the 943 who worked for the department in 2020, and remains down on the 886 who worked there in 2019.
The last time there were such low numbers was in 1989, when just 742 cops patrolled the city's streets. But back them, just 430,657 lived in the Oregon city, meaning the department wasn't as overstretched as it is now.
The short-staffed department was defunded to the tune of $15 million in June 2020, in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Exit surveys conducted by KOIN earlier this year found that Portland cops were leaving because they're demoralized and have no faith in the city's DA or mayor.
Portland has also been hit by a number of laws and measures aimed at reducing its ability to intervene in crime, even as Portland sees murders soar to an all time high. There have been 77 homicides in the city so far this year, far eclipsing the previous record of 67 for the whole of 1987, with six weeks of 2021 still to run.
There are current 788 sworn members of the Portland Police Bureau, the fewest its seen since 1989 when there were 742 sworn members
The city is also famed for its regular Antifa riots, with the hard-left activists attacking federal buildings and cops while calling for the abolition of police.
Portland also raised eyebrows after enacting a new law which means people in possession of small quantities of any drug can't be arrested, including heroin and crystal meth.
Due to its steep drop in membership, the department says it must prioritize more serious crimes over more common ones like property theft.
Portland has also witnessed 1,105 shootings this year, with Mayor Ted Wheeler now calling for more cash to be available to increase the size of its police department.
Portland's number of officers is in stark contrast with the size of police forces in cities comparable in population
The city's union has called for officer numbers to be doubled, although they've also warned it could be years before any planned hires impact current crime levels.
'This is anarchy. The city has decided what rules they will and will not impose,' Laurie Sugahbeare told KOIN 6. She lives near a homeless camp off Interstate 5 in North Portland and said crime is rife, but often left undealt with.
Sugahbeare is not alone in her concerns. Most residents believe there must be more boots on the ground and 66% said Portland needs more officers, according to a poll from People for Portland. Of those polled, 17% said the city has the right amount of officers and 8% said there should be fewer.
Portland's number of officers is in stark contrast with the size of police forces in cities comparable in population. Portland's 788 police officers mean that it has 1.2 officers per 1,000 people.
Washington D.C. has 3,578 officers or five per 1,000 people, Boston has 2,098 officers or three per 1,000 people, Milwaukee has 1,663 officers or about three per 1,000 people, El Paso has 1,138 officers or just under two per 1,000 people and Seattle has 1,124 officers or 1.45 per 1,000 people, according to data collected from police departments in October.
Joel Morales, another local resident, is missing his $3,500 electric bicycle and told the news outlet that some of the homeless campers told him they saw someone in the camp steal it.
The short-staffed department has faced calls to be defunded by the 'woke' city council and a number of laws aimed at reducing its ability to intervene. Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is a staunch advocate for reducing the number of armed police officers throughout the city
'I still can't get Portland PD to help me out with this because they're under-resourced,' he said. 'I just make do what I do and I just kind of laugh about it now. What am I going to cry about it, you know? So, just laugh about it.'
A third resident, Dale Hardt, said he feels as though policing has been left up to the residents of Portland. He told KOIN 6, 'I carry a Smith and Wesson baton that extends outward for a good, quick swing. Now the city, Jo Ann Hardesty, has asked us to step up and enforce the laws ourselves. And I'm here, Jo Ann. I'm ready to defend the laws.'
Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty is a staunch advocate for reducing the number of armed police officers throughout the city and diverting funds from the department to social services and crisis workers aimed at preventing crime.
She has become a face for the woke movement in the city - despite herself calling 911 on a Lyft driver last year for refusing to wind up the window of his car, sparking allegations of hypocrisy.
Residents who live near a homeless camp off Interstate 5 in North Portland and said crime is rife, but often left undealt with
'The police have a role, but their role is simply to solve crime. Their role is not to prevent crime, their role is not to intervene in other community activities. A response to gun violence should not be a knee-jerk reaction. As you know, we intentionally cut very specific programs in PPB's budget during the last budget process because those programs had racially disparate outcomes,' she said in May.
But even Hardesty has now acknowledged that urgent action is needed. Last month, she reached out to Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell about creating a rehire plan, she told KOIN 6.
'I'm open. I think if we're going to rehire former officers, we need to have some criteria,' she said. '[To ensure] that we don't bring back officers who've, who were part of the 6,000 use-of-force complaints from last year, that we don't bring back officers who retired in lieu of being investigated.'
She added that the city must work on 'transforming a very dysfunctional bureau' and said she knows that's going to take a while. 'We didn't create a dysfunctional bureau overnight and it's not going to be fixed overnight,' she said.
The decrease in staffing comes as the city sees a record-breaking surge in violent crime skirmishes between extremist groups and 'anarchist' riots. Above, Portland police officers officer tackled demonstrators after a riot was declared during a protest against the killing of Daunte Wright on April 12
Above, Portland police responded to a structure fire set by protesters following the police shooting of a homeless man on April 17
Mayor Ted Wheeler announced last Wednesday that he is seeking an extra $5million for the police department
Even with a hiring surge, it will take years for the public to see an impact, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said Tuesday during a public safety forum hosted by the Portland Business Alliance titled, 'Portland at a crossroads: Is crime the new normal?'
New officers must be recruited and trained before they can work on their own, meanwhile a boost in hiring cannot keep up with a 'retirement cliff' that Lovell warned is on the horizon, the Oregonian/Oregon Live reported.
Despite Portland's population continuing to grow over the years, its number of sworn members has mostly been declining over the past two decades. In 1960, Portland had 654 police officers, when the city had 372,000 people. That's about 300,000 fewer residents than the city has in 2021.
'The reality is, our police department has been withering on the vine for several years,' Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps told KOIN 6, adding that 40 officers are currently thinking about retiring.
'If we continue at this rate, a year from now, we could be down to 600 officers. I have no idea how the city of Portland functions with a police bureau that small,' he added.
Officers who left the department in 2021 cited the city's softness on crime as a major reason and specifically mentioned Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, according to exit interviews obtained by KOIN 6.
