Police budget cuts cripple bike theft response unit

The Bike Theft Task Force booth at a Sunday Parkways event in July 2016.
(Photos: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

The leader of the Portland Police Police Bureau’s Bike Theft Task Force (BTTF) says the unit has lost its only source of funding and will have to significantly scale back its work for the foreseeable future.

Officers with the task force had been doing regular bike registration events in partnership with Portland Parks rangers over the past few months. Last week Officer Dave Sanders took to the BTTF Twitter account to make the news public: “We are sorry to have to cancel this and other planned events,” he wrote. “Funding for our bike theft program is currently being suspended. Though the police bureau sees the value of these community efforts, we are facing larger budget cuts within our bureau that prevent us from continuing.”

The BTTF was launched in 2015. It was the result of a concerted effort by BikePortland and others to raise awareness of the issue that culminated with the first-ever Bike Theft Summit in December 2014.

Officer Sanders is based out of Central Precinct and works in the bureau’s Neighborhood Response Team (NRT) program. He’s part of a four member unit partly subsidized by Portland Patrol Inc., a private security contractor for Downtown Portland Clean & Safe.

Officer Dave Sanders is the leader of the Bike Theft Task Force.

Sanders and his team are on the front lines of several bike theft hot spots and they’ve helped recovered hundreds of bikes over the years. In addition to investigating bike theft cases and getting bikes back, the BTTF has established working relationships with community groups and bike shops, conducted bike theft trainings for officers across the region, and hosted many lock giveaway and registration events. The BTTF is also active online. Sanders has hosted a Q & A in the BikePortland Forums and regularly responds to requests for help through the BTTF Twitter account.

Other steps the BTTF has taken to fight bike theft include setting out bait bikes and setting up stings to intercept online sales of stolen bikes.

Between January 1st and August 31st of this year, the BTTF recovered 192 bikes. In 2018 the BTTF confiscated 277 bikes and returned 223 (74%) of them to their rightful owners.

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Year to date comparison of reported bike theft cases.
(Source: Portland Police Bureau)

Sanders estimates there are about 10,000 bicycles stolen in Portland ever year (only about 1 in 4 get reported). He believes the best way to combat this epidemic — which he claims has gotten far worse during the pandemic — is for every bicycle to be registered with a service like Project 529 (which the bureau relies on heavily) or Bike Index. Sanders says you’re twice as likely to get your bike back if it’s registered. The goal of the BTTF was to register 100,000 bikes by 2022 — 10 times the amount currently on file.

Despite the success of the BTTF, it has never received dedicated funding from the Portland Police Bureau beyond limited officer staff time. That changed in 2018 when Sanders applied for — and won — an internal grant for $180,000 to do community outreach and boost bicycle registration. The grant money initially came into the bureau in 2017 through the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. Sanders earned a share of that money with his proposal for a three-year Bicycle Outreach Program that centered on registration drives, community education efforts, and other efforts to get a handle on thefts.

Sometime earlier this month Ofcr. Sanders was told that money would no longer be available. He believes the funds were shifted to other bureau priorities and that the move was a result of an overall drain on the police budget and to recoup costs from protest response efforts.

PPB officials haven’t responded to requests for comment about this decision.

The PPB budget has been in major flux all summer and the NRT program is a victim of cuts throughout the bureau. The primary source of funding for the PPB’s NRT program is General Fund discretionary resources which the current city budget says are, “subject to the volatility of the City’s General Fund.”

Back in June, the police budget was reduced by $15.3 million — from $244.6 million to $229.3 million — for the 2021 fiscal year (which runs from July through June). The bulk of these cuts were the result of public and political pressure to reduce police spending and redirect it to other public services.

Also in June, The Oregonian reported the bureau is required to make another $3.3 million in cuts as part of a citywide response to coronavirus impact. “It’s not yet clear where those reductions will be,” they wrote.

According to KATU, the police budget is also under strain from a huge spike in overtime related to the protests. The PPB has also spent over $70,000 on weapons like tear gas and pepper spray as well as new protest-related equipment. Another $40,000 was spent on fencing around Chapman and Lownsdale squares that was taken down after just a few days.

“I would love for someone else to step up in the community to solve this problem.”
— Dave Sanders, PPB officer

Sanders says the BTTF isn’t being dissolved and that he and other members of the Central Precinct bike unit will still be able to do bike theft work during down-time; but he doesn’t expect that to happen much given their intense workload. In addition to having his funding rescinded, two of the six bike unit positions have been cut.

While he’s disappointed to lose so much of the progress the BTTF has made in the past five years, Sanders says, “I don’t take it personally. The bureau acknowledges that this was a vital program and valuable services provided to the community. I hope that the city as a whole again prioritizes this again in the future. I want people to know we still care about bike theft and are still active in getting bikes back as we can. We just won’t be able to be as responsive to the community’s needs.”

When Sanders started working on bike theft issues in 2013 he says he did it because he saw a huge need and no one else was stepping up to do anything about it.

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With the role of police in our communities under intense scrutiny, many people wonder why bike theft recovery and prevention work is being done by armed officers at all. “I would love for someone else to step up in the community to solve this problem,” Sanders shared with me recently.

Sanders has had the help of a few community partners over the years. He tried for months in 2018 to get a paid position established at the Portland Bureau of Transportation to take over many aspects of the work. PBOT wasn’t able to justify the position in their budget, but the agency has played a big role in the BTTF since its inception. They partner on marketing and promotional campaigns and PBOT has purchased 100s of u-locks for giveaways at events like Sunday Parkways.

The best way to combat bike theft is to get more bikes registered and educate people about using high-quality locks — neither of which require a police officer. Sanders thinks even some of the background investigation work could be done by a civilian.

When it comes to contact with bike theft suspects though, Sanders believes armed officers are a must. “That’s our function, to be that mediator between the community and the suspect who might cause harm,” he said.

When the BTTF launched in March 2015, former Police Chief Larry O’Dea said, “I want to make it clear that this has been community-driven effort from the start and it will continue to be an equal partnership with the public.”

With reported bike theft cases up nearly 20% compared to last year and the suspension of the BTTF, the public will have to step up more than ever to address the issue.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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mperham
3 years ago

Unfortunate. Too bad they won’t redirect some money from their seemingly unlimited tear gas budget.

Jake Botkin
Jake Botkin
3 years ago
Reply to  mperham

192 / 10000 bikes recovered (what the dept itself is touting) is a dismal 2% success rate.. Surely we don’t need to fund the police to do this work (basically sitting, drinking coffee and eating donuts while registering bicycles).

Invest all that money in secure, well-lit bike parking (maybe even valet or indoor) and take it away from the teargas.

JR
JR
3 years ago

Agreed, you can’t blame BTTF for not retrieving bikes that haven’t been reported to them. So the number is closer to 9.6% success in retrieving stolen bikes. Seems like the most important functions can simply be taken over by a PBOT staffer – attend events, inform the public, and take registration numbers into the database. I recall registering my bike at a Sunday Parkways last year. I had no idea where the registration number was located. Perhaps even an intern program could help with this and employ at-risk youth?

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago
Reply to  JR

Why not register them for free via the internet. Why involve a human? Probably already something on the internet that does it.

Jason
Jason
3 years ago

I’ve never gotten the warm fuzzies from PPB. They blame victims of traffic fatalities, my attempts to report video – documented road rage was denied, they don’t enforce traffic laws.

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago
Reply to  Jason

They don’t care about road rage. I have also been told that they wouldn’t respond to my incident where an angry white male in a huge truck forced me off the freeway after he and his 11 year old son threw every piece of trash they had in that truck (mostly cans) at my car.

Jason
Jason
3 years ago

It seems like failure to enforce road rage and distracted (phoney) driving laws is part of the bigger picture. Failure to enforce traffic laws. Literally, the only time I’ve ever seen a PPB officer pull someone over was during COVID-19. I have seen marked police patrol vehicles cast a blind eye to obvious traffic infractions committed right in front of them. And boy, do they have the energy to defend that one damn building downtown. Now, if we could just get that building to ride a bike.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago

How did you determine the kid was 11?

Kudos on admitting you drove a what do you call it – a “murder machine”?

Matt
Matt
3 years ago

Admitting one has made a mistake is a sign of humility, maturity, and growth. Can you tell us about some mistakes you’ve made?

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago
Reply to  Matt

Yes. One time I accidentally biked down a one-way street in Italy and got yelled at. It was my fault and I apologized.

Another time I was trail running in Northern Arizona and ventured onto some Tribal lands. When told, I apologized for my error and returned whence I came.

What about you?

Matt
Matt
3 years ago

Sure. I’ve been pulled over in my car for driving like an idiot a couple of times. I drive much less now, and when I do drive, I do it much more cautiously now.

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago

As the driver was yelling at me he said “even my 11 year old son knows you’re an idiot”.

I still do occasionally pilot an explosion powered murder weapon.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago

I’m very curious what precipitated the interaction.

Keviniano
Keviniano
3 years ago

Maybe this work doesn’t need to be done by people with guns.

Chris I
Chris I
3 years ago
Reply to  Keviniano

Are you volunteering? Ever had a knife pulled on you by an “urban camper”? It’s not a good feeling.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

Maybe hire civilian machete-wielding social-service providers?

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

Police in the UK don’t seem to have any issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mzPj_IaMzY

JGC
JGC
3 years ago

That was back in 2019. Here is a link from last year showing current policing in the UK. Police can be seen starting at 2:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsXKm4ZXnbc

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  JGC

Wow… that’s a rather big gun for traffic patrol. I was also struck by the black uniform.

cmh89
cmh89
3 years ago
Reply to  JGC

Is this a joke or did you just not watch the video? Those were police guarding the Prime Ministers residence, not traffic cops.

Keviniano
Keviniano
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

Actually, yes, I have been assaulted and threatened with a knife, though not by a houseless person. It was terrifying, traumatizing, and I’m really glad I didn’t have a gun and that no one else had a gun.

Others have already responded that there are other methods to accomplish law enforcement and public safety that don’t require packing a gun as the norm. They’re not half-baked ideas. They’ve been institutionalized across the UK, but because they don’t support the narrative of police militarization that’s so ingrained in US culture today, they don’t get much traction.

I think given the state of things today, we should treat with skepticism any statement from a police officer trained in militaristic tactics stating that only a police officer so trained can carry out responses to nonviolent crime.

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  Keviniano

It is difficult to make a fair comparison with the UK because we have so many more guns in circulation, which makes every encounter potentially deadly. Removing guns from the equation in the short term is an impossibility, and any serious plan to introduce a large element of unarmed police has to reckon with that fact honestly.

How can a dispatcher, who most times gets all their information from a random and often upset caller, possibly assess whether it would be safe to send an unarmed officer? There are, of course, some easy cases, but in those instances, the fact that the officer arrives with a gun is irrelevant.

Until someone is able to create a well thought out and realistic plan, it will be hard for me to take an significant call for restructuring/disarming the police seriously. But if someone can create a workable proposal, I’ll support it.

Al
Al
3 years ago
Reply to  Keviniano

Chris I is right. What do you think is going to happen if you try and take back a stolen bike from someone who has zero regard for other’s property?

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago
Reply to  Al

If you do it right, nobody gets hurt and the perp goes into a cell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mzPj_IaMzY

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago

I wonder why this cop didn’t “do it right” and get the “perp into a cell”?

https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-police-to-release-body-camera-footage-of-recent-fatal-shooting/561226632/

Chris I
Chris I
3 years ago

And if you do it wrong, you could die.

mran1984
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris I

Far too many “people” on this planet anyway.

cmh89
cmh89
3 years ago

Of course they cut one of few useful things they do…

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago

PPB: Bike sales are up 56%, let’s cut all the funding for helping those people keep their bikes.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago

ODOT should be using their funds to subsidize the theft of Oregon bikes and shipping them out of state, thus encouraging more bike sales within the state and more revenue for state bike projects. Remember, it’s all about having more skin in the game.

It’s similar to PBOT encouraging more people to drive, as the more gas sold, the more money is available for transportation infrastructure projects and street repaving.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

And the only reason those people are stealing bikes is because they are hungry. That’s why so many are stashed under tarps – being saved for a rainy day.

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago

Food is free for those that need it. Bikes aren’t being stolen to buy food.

Bjorn
Bjorn
3 years ago

This seems like a great thing to add to the list of money to take out of the PPB budget and put into social services. Much of the work of the task force could be done by someone without a gun and there is plenty of money in the PPB budget to just redirect.

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago
Reply to  Bjorn

Bullcrap – you can’t safely so much as walk down the street in Portland without a gun, even if you aren’t a cop.

rain panther
rain panther
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

I’ve been walking, biking, and driving around Portland unarmed for almost 25 years. I’ve had relatively few threats to my safety, but most have involved cars and trucks driving unsafely, and a firearm hardly seems like a remedy to that issue. If you don’t feel safe walking in Portland without a gun, sounds to me like you’re doing it all wrong.

JR
JR
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

That’s a ridiculous statement, to say the least. I ride transit daily, walk alone all the time, in day and night times, around street camps, in alleys, etc. I feel much more at risk as a bicyclist being hit by a car than any other type of crime.

Maddy
Maddy
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

Do you live in Portland?

CaptainKarma
CaptainKarma
3 years ago
Reply to  Maddy

Yes

CaptainKarma
CaptainKarma
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

I have lived 66 years without shooting anyone or being shot at or threatened with a knife. 20 years as a military person in places that really resent our “participation” in their lives. 10 years in PDX. I walk the streets as thousands do, and ride bike all over. I’m not sure why you are fearful, but it must be a burden
I am an expert marksman. But I do not want an explosive device in my house, car, or dragging around in my bike kit, none of that. Nowhere a kid could get hold of it, like a 17 year old with unformed prefrontal lobes. Every gun should have a million dollar umbrella liability policy on it, with felony charges for failure to provide.

Johnny Bye Carter
Johnny Bye Carter
3 years ago

They lasted 3 years on just a portion of $180,000, and the PPB has wasted $110,000 on improper responses to protests just this summer.

This shows that there’s plenty of money available to run the BTTF program.

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago

So they should have just let the arsonists burn down the entire city? Are you so delusional that you think the law-abiding, tax-paying business owners and citizens of Portland give a shi+ about the BTTF being defunded when the entire city is boarded up and unsafe to be in?

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago

Cameras don’t lie. There have been fires essentially every night for 3-4 months, and if the police and feds had not stopped the ANTIFA fascists, they would have burned the city to the ground starting with the courthouses, police stations and justice centers, and everyone in the USA, except you, understands those truths.

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

Regardless of what *would have happened*, you do raise a good point — your belief is broadly shared, even, anecdotally, among fairly left leaning folks I talk to who seem to think that Portland is a smoldering ruin. This feeds the narrative propelling law-and-order candidates around the country.

In Portland, the fallout will by reasonably minor (making it harder for the candidate who boasted of being Antifa, boosting Wheeler’s already formidable chances of re-election, but without further repercussion), but in tight races further removed from the reality of Portland? I’m concerned. While I’m confident of victory, the stakes in this election are awfully high to be taking any unnecessary risks.

Maddy
Maddy
3 years ago

Dagny clearly doesn’t live in Portland. I’ve got $20 wagering that the closest her/his IP address registers is ***deleted by moderator*** in Washington. Do you ever wipe the trolls posing as Portlanders?

LK
LK
3 years ago

It’s no surprise that the PPB is cutting well-liked, community-oriented programs in response to their fairly meager budget cuts. The bureau, by and large, has no interest in actually serving the city of Portland, and has active disdain for the people who actually live here. All they care about is maintaining their own power.

For people in the bureau like Ofcr Sanders who actually want to serve the city of Portland and its people, and find themselves getting screwed by these budget cuts, I recommend you find another job. Your good faith efforts will never be anything more than a bargaining chip for the cruel masters that run the bureau.

“Look what you made me do”, says the PPB in response to these cuts. “Look what you made me do” is the language of abusers.

dan
dan
3 years ago
Reply to  LK

Wish I could upvote this remark more than once. This is exactly right, they’re deliberately cutting popular programs. Interesting that they haven’t thought about what they’ll do when we collectively agree they no longer do anything that we care to pay them to do.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  dan

It’s an old but tried-and-true budget cut tactic, offering to cut popular services. For years PBOT would offer to cut its electric bill by offering rolling blackouts of streetlights and signals all over town. I’d expect a decision reversal after November 3rd.

Jon
Jon
3 years ago
Reply to  dan

Do you seriously think this is a “popular” program? Bicyclist are a tiny minority and a program to recover bicycles when there is a nearly 40% rise in shootings is a luxury. What do you want to see the police respond to – someone getting shot or a program to recover my $5,000 Trek? The budget is not infinite.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  Jon

Hey, how did you get a “-1”?

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

The hard way – you earned it. 😉

LK
LK
3 years ago
Reply to  David Hampsten

As a web developer, your comment sparked my curiosity, and I was able to figure out how to vote a comment down in roughly a minute of snooping. I’m not going to share how since it’s an exploit that I don’t think people should use, but it’s fairly simple.

dan
dan
3 years ago
Reply to  Jon

The police budget is $244 million for the next budget year…cutting a program that cost tens of thousands per year is a deliberate attempt to “punish” the citizens for daring to bring up the radical suggestion that the police should be accountable for their behavior.

cmh89
cmh89
3 years ago
Reply to  Jon

Ideally I’d like the police to respond to neither. Both situations could be handled by someone more qualified than your standard PPB LEO

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  cmh89

Who, specifically, would you want to respond to a shooting or to recover stolen property?

SERider
SERider
3 years ago
Reply to  Jon

“bicyclists” might be a minority, but a majority of Portlanders likely own bikes. bikes they don’t want to have stolen.

mh
3 years ago
Reply to  dan

Interesting that they haven’t thought about what they’ll do when we collectively agree they no longer do anything that we care to pay them to do.

Oooh, nice. I had not thought that far ahead.

q'Tzal
q'Tzal
3 years ago
Reply to  LK

They are prioritizing cuts on programs not used by the voting demographic that will vote for them.
This is a common sense political strategy: “don’t piss off your core supporters”. The hardcore “law’n’order” types are a fearful lot as a whole and that fear extends to being on public roads in anything other than a big rolling metal cage.
But we are already their political enemies: what do they have to lose by cutting programs that we like?

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  q'Tzal

Why would the police be worried about voters? It’s city council they are answerable to, specifically the mayor and the commissioner in charge. If they aren’t pro-bike, then I’d blame them for the cuts.

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago
Reply to  LK

I thought ACAB.

Pete S.
Pete S.
3 years ago

Hey middle of the road guy gets one right for once!

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago

Contact City Council — they’re the ones who have the power to undefund this program, and two of them (including the police commissioner!) are facing an election, so my be particularly receptive to constituent requests.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  Hello, Kitty

If it gets undefunded, is it refunded?

Champs
Champs
3 years ago

There could be so much more money if Wheeler would just do something, anything, to address the ongoing protests.

Were I the mayor I’d have a truth and reconciliation committee where the police and their victims get equal footing to talk about their experiences. We need to understand what roles are needed, figure out who should fulfill them, and show our work to the people who reflexively hate all notions of change.

Unfortunately I don’t think anybody still campaigning for mayor is up to the job. Four more years, one way or another.

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  Champs

How do you envision a “truth and reconciliation” process would work?

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago
Reply to  Hello, Kitty

I envision how it would end – with Molotov cocktails and tear gas.

Steve
3 years ago

Well, thank goodness for those fighting in the streets to make sure my next stolen bike never gets recovered.

David Hampsten
David Hampsten
3 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Are you planning on stealing a bike? What year, model & make?

Matt
Matt
3 years ago

Not surprising responses here on cop-hating BikePortland. Have a great weekend!

Middle of the Road Guy
Middle of the Road Guy
3 years ago
Reply to  Matt

Remember – All Cops Are Bastards, including the ones who get stolen bikes back.

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago

Especially them.

dan
dan
3 years ago
Reply to  Matt

Anyone who has lived in Portland for any length of time has a story or stories about how cops just don’t do the jobs for which we are ostensibly paying them: turned a blind eye to traffic violations, wouldn’t help someone repossess stolen property or arrest the thief when the thief was known, etc. In my case, I was assaulted on a downtown sidewalk in the middle of the day, eventually got on top and restrained the perp, and they did not come to take him into custody after multiple 911 calls.

I wouldn’t describe myself as cop-hating, but just like any other arm of the government, we expect to get value for the money we pay them. They receive a big chunk of the budget, and totally fail to deliver ROI.

eddie
eddie
3 years ago

I’ve had multiple bikes stolen in Portland and I’ve never bothered calling the cops, I’d rather have them responding to a medical emergency or preventing a domestic abuse situation from escalating or somethin – remember, their job isn’t just to crack skulls, they also provide security for emergency personnel such as firefighters or paramedics, and are often the only people available to deescalate conflicts. First people who show up when you call 911. An important part of the emergency response network.

And they’re not all bastards. That’s just plain incorrect.

Bike theft has gotten super bad lately. You just have to lock your bike as securely as possible, leave it out of your sight as little as possible, and never leave anything – lights, pumps, frame bags – on your bike.

It’s cool the cops had a program for bike theft, but the fact is, as with many other growing cities, it’s just gonna get to be such a big problem no one can really do anything about it, aside from protecting their own bikes.

Mark Linehan
Mark Linehan
3 years ago

10,000 bicycles stolen in Portland every year, and only a few hundred recovered! Whether you focus on the number stolen or the number recovered, or the community education, it seems to me that this BTTF did not accomplish much. And it cost the City 4 (or 6?) officers for the last 3 years. Seems like the balance between cost and benefit is out of whack.

Bicycle theft is a big problem. We need a new way to address it, one that is more effective.

mran1984
3 years ago

Bike theft is directly related to our piles of garbage throughout the city. It gets worse everyday. It’s become the City of Garbage instead of the City of Roses. Most of the garbage is from out of town.

soren
soren
3 years ago
Reply to  mran1984

Bike thieves are spontaneously generated from piles of garbage?

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago

I don’t want police doing this work either

It sounds like the police will not be doing this work moving forward, and I agree that the likely result is that bike theft will get worse.

Perhaps we can ask Eudaly to get PBOT to backfill the bike registration outreach that the PPB was doing, but I’m not sure who else could do the policing component.

Since bike theft probably hits poorer people harder (more painful to replace a bike, fewer options for securing it, less likely to be insured, less access to alternate transportation, etc.), ceasing this work only increases inequity. It is not progress, and I, for one, very much do want the police doing this until some other agency is willing and able to step up to the plate and do the work.

Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart
3 years ago

Radical, unhinged leftists Burn, Loot, Murder for 4 months demanding that radical, unhinged leftist politicians defund police. The politicians cave and give in to their unhinged constituents: police are defunded.

Radical, unhinged leftists upset when crime is no longer punished or investigated.

Laughable. 🙂

Kurt
Kurt
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

Right wing terrorist show up FROM OUT OF TOWN to break laws and terrorize the citizens of Portland while touting their love of the rule of law. Why don’t you just go to your little fake utopia in Colorado already.

CaptainKarma
CaptainKarma
3 years ago
Reply to  Kurt

Idaho. shh.

Hello, Kitty
Hello, Kitty
3 years ago
Reply to  Dagny Taggart

The politicians cave and give in to their unhinged constituents: police are defunded.

You’re being alarmist.

The police are pretty much not defunded, and won’t be. There is little public support for reducing police services, and that support will fall even further when retirements and recruiting problems give Portlanders of all stripes a taste of what an understaffed big-city police department looks like. Even Minneapolis has already abandoned it’s much-ballyhooed plans for “defunding” their police department.

Don’t panic!

Bikeninja
Bikeninja
3 years ago

The answer is in this last monday’s news roundup, ” Bike Theft Vigilantes.” Can we all say it together, ” if the cops won’t do it eventually the victims will.”

Tom
Tom
3 years ago

Maybe its time to try some different approaches.

Other cities have installed on-demand shared e-lockers. Maybe a cluster for each business district to start.

Why not pass an ordinance that requires local bike shops to register new bikes with the free registrations when you purchase the bike, as a condition of sale.

Fred
Fred
3 years ago

I think we are seeing where the “defund the police” rhetoric is taking us.

rain panther
rain panther
3 years ago
Reply to  Fred

Not really. You could just as easily say we’re seeing the effects of wasting $40K on a temporary fence that only stayed up a couple of days.

X
X
3 years ago

After a second read of this article this line struck me: “…the unit has lost its only source of funding and will have to significantly scale back its work…” It’s a reasonable paraphrase of the brief Twitter announcement.

What is the source of Portland police funding?

Us. Are we gone? (We persist)

Who do Portland police work for?

Us. What do we want?

Not to be tear gassed in our homes. Not to be run over. Not to be brought up in federal court for civil protest, for committing journalism, for crimes of status, or for being of the wrong party.

Ian
Ian
3 years ago

Sad to hear about the funding cuts, but some if it is appropriate. Why fund outreach, when most events are canceled or gone virtual? The timing and optics are horrible, coming in the middle of a bike theft crime wave!

I am deeply appreciative of the task force and those who serve on it. I’ve had stolen bikes recovered several times over the years (as recently as yesterday!) thanks to their efforts.

Christopher Johnson
Christopher Johnson
3 years ago

Unfortunately the PPD has been profiling riders (especially those of color) and confiscating bikes from people who seem to have “too nice of a bike”. In addition to its dismal return success rate, the department has acquired thousands of “stolen” bicycles of which they are unable to find its original owner (nor were ever reported stolen). One must consider one of the reasons for its funding cut is due to its racist, illegal and unjust activities in the face of mass public protest and criticism.

Alan 1.0
3 years ago

PPD has been profiling riders (especially those of color) and confiscating bikes from people who seem to have “too nice of a bike”.

Source?