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January 1, Where Are the Police? Frustrated Residents Say Cops Have “Disappeared”

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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY…
2000: Controversial U.S. presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore is inconclusive; the result, in Bush’s favor, is eventually resolved by the Supreme Court.

Residents of Portland, Oregon, say police have “almost disappeared” as violent crime is increasing in their city at an alarming pace.

Violent crime in Portland outpaced the rest of the country — jumping 38% between 2020 and 2021, Fox News reported, citing FBI data. Property crimes such as vandalism and car theft also increased in that time period, according to data from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).

“It’s like they almost disappeared,” said Loretta Guzman, owner of Bison Coffee House in North Portland.

Guzman’s coffee shop was vandalized early last month after she advertised a Coffee with a Cop event. The proprietor told Fox News that she decided to hold the event after hearing customer complaints about safety in the city over the last few years.

“A lot of people feel really unsafe,” she said. “They’re angry, they’re sad, they’re mad. They feel helpless. They feel they don’t have a voice.”

“They have questions like, ‘Where are the police? How come they can’t come?’” Guzman said. “We used to see them all the time.”

PPB data shows that October’s average response time for a high-priority call, in which people or high-value property are in immediate danger, was 20.4 minutes — the slowest it’s been in at least six years.

“We have felt that the police have, you know, checked out or failed us for a while,” said Michael Fesser, founder of Going Home 2, a nonprofit that supports men transitioning from prison back to civilian life. “It seems that they have just sat back and said, ‘We’re not going to do anything unless it’s a dead body.'”

In a poll released earlier this year, 51% of Portland residents doubted that a 911 would be answered quickly.

A PPB spokesperson told Fox News that staffing issues are plaguing the bureau, with 250 officers either resigning or retiring in the past two years.

“Every day we are still unable to staff shifts to minimums,” PPB spokesperson Terri Wallo Strauss told the outlet in an email. “That, coupled with increases in violent crime, traffic crashes … and other resource intensive calls, means people sometimes have to wait a long time for an officer to respond.”

Strauss noted that the police officers “got into the line of work to help the community, and it’s frustrating when they can’t.”

The PPB is slowly bringing in new officers, but it takes time. According to Strauss, it takes 18 months to fully train officers, so the staffing efforts likely won’t be felt for a while.

“We don’t know exactly what to do when someone’s in our backyard because we don’t want to take actions and go to prison,” Fesser said. “So we want them to do their job. And as a community, we want to do our job to be law-abiding citizens.”


Source: Fox News

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. Terry A

    November 7, 2022 at 6:44 am

    ….we don’t want to hear it! Keep voting for those liberal DEMs and shut the hell up! Morons! Just what the hell did you think would happen if you “De-funded the police?”

    • ByGeorge

      November 7, 2022 at 8:18 am

      We have arrived at the turning point of social development, survival through vigilantism. It’s all that will be left if Democrats steal this election

    • Ron

      November 7, 2022 at 9:43 am

      Phx is Rep and has the same problem this is not a Political issue.

      • Fred

        November 7, 2022 at 10:55 am

        The city of PHX isn’t Republican, but Arizona is. And we’ve got plenty of RINOs in office as well. The McCain Machine is still churning. This most certainly is a political issue, but it didn’t just start 2 years ago when the Democrats and their allies rigged the election and pLandemic, this cultural/social/political war has been going on for decades.

    • Muffin

      November 7, 2022 at 10:46 am

      Democrats are just not the brightest on the planet.. A six year old would know what would happen with defunding police. Democrats, U got what U voted for. Why complain now. Instead get out and vote RED.

    • Muffin

      November 14, 2022 at 12:16 pm

      Amen.

    • jeff

      November 14, 2022 at 12:34 pm

      You reap what you sew! They got what they wanted and now are aware of how foolish it was!

  2. Elaine

    November 7, 2022 at 6:58 am

    Why dont they ask the child in the Whitehouse? He and his diciples decided we no longer need the brave and calming influence of Police. Open up and ask yourself “WHO DID I VOTE FOR???? Democrats say we need more unregistered, unknown, possibly unsafe and sick people from other countries then on top of that we must “Defund the POLICE and give the money to the ????????? ! THATS WHERE THE BRAVE PEOPLE (POLICE) are,
    theres an old saying :YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

  3. joannedestefano

    November 7, 2022 at 7:04 am

    Police are tired of getting shot, jailed or sued..VOTE RED

    • Ron

      November 7, 2022 at 9:45 am

      Phx is Red and has the problem so now what ?????? This is a problem that will take Blue and Red working together to fix.

      • Ken

        November 12, 2022 at 7:33 pm

        The IDIOTS got what they wanted…now LIVE or DIE with it…:)

  4. Philip Ashline

    November 7, 2022 at 7:20 am

    Portland this is what you wanted, and this is what you got, no police equals plenty of crime! So if you don’t want that then , don’t vote for liberal politicians, vote for conservative leadership, if not,then enjoy.

  5. Kent Sinclair

    November 7, 2022 at 7:47 am

    You asked for it, now you got it, now suck it up and live with it.

  6. BLEEDGREEN1947

    November 7, 2022 at 8:06 am

    For everyone that voted for any Democrat including Pelosi’s husband deserve what they are getting!! Do not cry you idiots you do not even deserve your next breath. What a waste of GREEN ENERGY (HA! HA!} “OXYGEN”!!! ALL DEMOCRATS AND YELLOW BACK RINO’S ARE THE “ENEMY” OF AMERICA!! 1 OF 74,000,000 PLUS AMERICAN PATRIOTS, RED, YELLOW, BLACK, WHITE THAT HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!! READY TO RIGHT THE SHIP NOW!! TOMORROW WE BEGIN THEN “TRUMP” IN 2024!!! ULTRA MAGAN!!!

  7. max

    November 7, 2022 at 8:10 am

    The saying watch what you wish for goes here. You wanted this or your party of choice did and now you got it. Do we feel sorry for you , NO.

  8. Don

    November 7, 2022 at 8:10 am

    Well, your kind of stupid can’t be fixed. You don’t want police and you don’t want the crimes they try to prevent. with that stupidity I say they’re doing the right thing by letting Portland rot in their own rotten juices.

  9. max

    November 7, 2022 at 8:12 am

    The Bible, Gods word tells us that voting is the most important thing in our lives besides worship of him. Why, well now you are seeing why. Let evil reign and you will reap the consequences. In fact that is the largest basis of the old testament but of course I have heard that book is old and not relevant today. Really. It is more relevant today. History repeats itself because people never change.;

  10. David

    November 7, 2022 at 8:18 am

    The Liberal Democrat have cuddle the criminals and keeps the border open. You folks in Oregon are in competition with California’s to see who can be the craziest in your Liberal Ideology. Until you wake up to changing you State Representatives and Governor, it will remain the status quo. Support your Law Enforcement and quit throwing them under the bus when they protect you and themselves against the thugs of the state!
    Until then Suck It Up, Buttercup!

  11. ted

    November 7, 2022 at 8:32 am

    you get what you ask for reap what you sew

  12. Bob McCormick

    November 7, 2022 at 9:14 am

    “We don’t know exactly what to do when someone’s in our backyard because we don’t want to take actions and go to prison,”
    AND THERE IT IS! The police can’t find the time to respond to a call, BUT when we are forced to do their job for them, they can find unlimited time and resources to make a case against us. The cops claim they are short handed thus they are unable to respond in a timely manner. They make their excuses and their employers, US, simply accept their excuses without question. No one asks where they where and what were they doing when the call came in.

    • Muffin

      November 7, 2022 at 10:54 am

      What a sick response. It’s people like U that are the problem. U make stupid votes for Dems & now complain. U CAN’T FIX STUPID!
      Many years ago I golfed at Pumpkin Ridge. Beautiful course. Wouldn’t NOW put a foot into Oregon.

  13. Charles

    November 7, 2022 at 9:27 am

    Duh. Keep voting Dems in and not paying attention to policy’s and you get what you deserve.

  14. Helen Sanders

    November 7, 2022 at 12:01 pm

    When you DEFUND the police they are not going to be around. You have made it very clear that you do not want their protection. They are not going to be risking their lives and not get paid or supported for their jobs. You can’t have your cake and eat it to. Make up your minds or just forget getting protection from the police. I do not blame the police for not being there at all.

  15. BPD1144

    November 7, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    You get what you asked for. Im a retired officer with 30 years if service. Young people dont want the job, experienced officers want out or are transferring to Fire Departments. Cant hire replacement officers because the Dems/Liberals have stripped Law Enforcement from doing its job. Criminals no longer fear the Police. No one stands behind the officers. Who in their right mind would take a Police job today? Its a joke. You softies have created this mess.

  16. Jim

    November 7, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    If the anti-Civilized antifa and blm groups injure or harm us we’ll give the police their turn to solve the problem – if they don’t solve it by ridding the thugs, then one night months later the thug(s) will simply disappear from the face of the planet never to be seen again.

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