Slowly but surely, Portland is changing its tune when it comes to enforcement of driving rules and behaviors. In just a few short years we’ve gone from a frosty relationship between the Portland police and transportation bureaus, to a shift in tone that seeks to send a clear message to drivers that if you don’t follow laws, the City of Portland is “coming for you.”
The latest evidence of this trend toward addressing driver lawlessness was an enforcement mission conducted by the Portland Police Bureau yesterday. The mission was targeted at, ghost cars, vehicles whose owners have purposely removed license plates to obscure their identity. Not having plates is a very dangerous violation for many reasons. Most people think it’s done to avoid automated enforcement cameras and/or having the plate number easily run by a police officer. Those are very serious concerns. In addition, when people are victimized by a driver who doesn’t have a license plate, it is almost impossible to identify the perpetrator and seek justice.
That’s why I was heartened to learn that the Portland Police Bureau did a “no plate vehicle mission” yesterday. According to the PPB, the mission came in response to community concerns. “In addition,” PPB wrote in a statement. “PPB has found that often times vehicles without plates are either stolen, used in the commission of a crime, or connected to other crimes.”
In a partnership with Central Precinct’s Neighborhood Response Team and the Bike Squad, a total of 12 stops were made in downtown and the central eastside. Of those 12 stops, two people were arrested and eight citations were issues. Five of the vehicles were towed and officers recovered two stolen cars and two stolen bicycles. That’s a pretty high rate of return on just 12 stops and it underscores how widespread this problem is.
PBOT will never reach Vision Zero without a big change in driving culture. More enforcement of traffic laws is an essential part of that culture change. They need to not only do the enforcement, but publicize it at every opportunity so that more Portlanders get the message that they need to operate their vehicles safely and according to the law.
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Reading “no plates mission” that was being staffed by the Central Precinct Team and the Bike Squad evokes blanket campaign that would send a strong public signal. Hearing that they only made 12 stops was astonishing- I had to re-read it to see if I missed something. That said, I agree that they made the most of those 12 stops!
Good job, Portland police! I hope this isn’t a one off thing. I see missing plates, defaced plates, and opaque license plate covers on a daily basis. This is going to need to be a routine policing activity if we’re ever going to see significant results.
Yeah, 12 in one day isn’t even a drop in the bucket. I see more than that every day just during my 20-minute walk to work. But, as they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. PPD (
PortlandPerformative Police Department) has historically only done enforcement efforts like this as one-off publicity stunts (often thankfully, like their stupid once-a-decade 4-hour Ladd stings, etc.). However, given the impressive return (five tows in just 12 stops!) maybe someone over there will pull their heads out and do a few more of these, though I’m not holding my breath.That’s odd. I see maybe one. Where do you see this?
Downtown. Just walk 20 blocks down Broadway and you’ll see a dozen in no time.
You’re not really looking
really? come out to 82nd & further east, you’ll see lots
Three missing plates and an opaque plate cover on today’s 15 minute morning walk to coffee in the North Peninsula. Should be easy picking for regular enforcement.
Yes, thank you PPB!
Piper,
Can’t one just give a compliment without an insult? We have a severely understaffed police department and blaming that on the officers is not cool.
Context, buddy: A severely under-remembered reason for PPB being understaffed is because it has a ton of _self-inflicted_ recruiting baggage.
It’s been under scrutiny by the federal DOJ since 2012 for excessive, unconstitutional use of force (James Chasse case). PPB _never has_ fully, earnestly complied with that scrutiny and has fallen off the wagon a bunch — so it has remained in the DOJ doghouse this whole time. At one point in 2021 it was so egregious that the DOJ threatened to bypass the local brass and assume supervision of the PPB.
This started nearly a decade before “defund the police” — so if anything, it has to be understood as among the causes of defund sentiment, rather than an effect.
By contrast, Seattle had a similar situation in 2012 but earnestly complied and was largely out of the DOJ doghouse by 2023.
So: If you’re a potential recruit of the bad-cop variety who wants to bust heads, then clearly Portland is not for you (too much ongoing scrutiny). If you’re a potential recruit of the good-cop variety, why go to Portland and be surrounded with a culture of unreformed, unconstitutional head-busting?
The core issue is _not_ that police are severely understaffed. It’s that police did undermine and continue to undermine their own credibility, so it’s harder for them to find people to join or stay.
My perspective as an 18-year Portland resident and now a 3-year outsider is that PPB continue to see the populace as something other than an entity to protect and serve — I’d wager at least partially due to ideological differences perceived more sharply than in most of the nation.
So as for _your own_ credibility, you’re really gonna have to step up and expand your apologist campaign — that is, if you hope to have any effect on those of us who remember.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._City_of_Portland
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/department-of-justice-portland-police-bureau/283-1cf41068-1371-4062-bb55-366a77b2e80a
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/following-significant-policing-reform-progress-federal-judge-terminates-most-consent-decree
Look, the claim that Portland’s police staffing shortage is purely about “self-inflicted” wounds ignores some key local factors. Sure, the DOJ’s scrutiny after the James Chasse (way back in 2006) case is a factor, but let’s not forget the role of local politics and the social climate in Portland. It’s not about cops being bad at their jobs or avoiding accountability—it’s about a growing and very real rift between PPB and Portland’s elected leaders.
Joanne Hardesty, for example, was openly critical of the police, and that rhetoric has created an environment where many officers feel under siege. When local leadership openly disparages police and supports the defund movement, it sends a message to officers that they’re not backed by the very people they’re supposed to work with. How many officers want to stick around when their leadership is publicly at odds with them, undermining their authority and credibility at every turn?
And let’s not forget the 100+ days of riots in 2020. Officers put in long hours, faced violent protests, and watched as their work was repeatedly undermined and vilified. After months of being told they were the enemy, it’s no wonder many chose to leave. When the job goes from protecting the community to being demonized in the press and from local leaders, that’s not exactly a great recruitment strategy.
So let’s be real: the greater exodus of officers came from a complete lack of support from local officials and the the shrill vocal minority of the public, who, in some cases, were actively hostile. The real issue isn’t just that cops are “bad” or “unreformed”—it’s that they’ve been systematically pushed out by a political climate that’s left them with few reasons to stay. When your own leadership treats you like the enemy, it’s hard to keep going.
I tried, but the inkling that all you just cited are _downstream effects_ is just going to have to occur to you in your own good time.
As hundred million dollar budget deficits increase and cuts to the POPO become inevitable, I expect more POPO traffic enforcement tantrums.
All cats are beautiful.
Yeah but see it used to be racist to do traffic enforcement so people have a little trouble keeping up with what the wise people of inner Portland are thinking.
Their sense of justice and morality is more advanced, so the rest of us struggle to keep up.
“PPB has found that often times vehicles without plates are either stolen, used in the commission of a crime, or connected to other crimes.”
I’m glad they put their best detectives on this to figure that one out.
John,
Did you know there is only ONE full time property crime detective for the ENTIRE city of Portland? No joke.
SOURCE: Terri Wallo-Strauss, PPB Strategic Communications Unit
You can thank Hardesty for that. She got rid of traffic police. I can’t think of any local politician who did more harm to this city in terms of physical/gun violence and traffic.
That was the mayor’s decision; Hardesty did not have a say.
Among a host of news sources, BikePortland covered this topic in December 2020. From December 2020, “Police Chief’s reorganization plan leaves no officers on traffic duty.”
https://bikeportland.org/2020/12/15/police-chiefs-reorganization-plan-leaves-no-officers-on-traffic-duty-324023
Then, in widely covered news in June 2021, “Mayor and Police Chief Announce PPB Will change Traffic Enforcement, Consent Search Protocols.”
https://www.portland.gov/wheeler/news/2021/6/22/mayor-and-police-chief-announce-ppb-will-change-traffic-enforcement-consent
So, if you’re trying to think of the local politician who did more “harm” to Portland in terms of traffic, I think the name you’re thinking of is the dude who actually did the thing you’re dismayed by: Ted Wheeler (and, by proxy, public servant and police chief Chuck Lovell).
We need MORE of this. Thank you PPB! Glad no one has called the officers racists (yet) for cleaning up our streets of these scofflaws. .
I guess it’s asking too much for cops that are BOTH non-racist AND willing to do thier jobs. We only get one or the other, apparently.
Do you have any evidence to back up your contention that current police
officers as a whole are “racist” in Portland?
It also seems to be too much to ask people who have a different vision for policing to be the change they want to see in the world.
“I don’t think cops should be racist”
Watts: “Why demand non-racist cops if you don’t want to be a cop yourself?”
As if as a matter of course we should just assume (and accept) the people wielding life or death authority over us are racist if we don’t personally want to be a cop.
What would you suggest to get better outcomes? Or are you just going to keep demanding?
Piper, have you experienced racism at the hands of PPB? Give some examples please.
Police exist all over this world and every leftist movement appears to reflexively hate them no matter what the facts are. It’s just not that credible anymore.
Look at Europe now that they also have a dark-skinned underclass–you’ll find the same issues.
Perennial leftist example #2 Sweden is talking about deporting its dark-skinned criminals who are currently citizens. Perennial leftist example #3 Denmark already does. Germany is debating deporting them without even going in front of a judge.
As far as I know 2020 was about the something the Minneapolis PD did. What, exactly did the PPD do?
Patrick Kimmons, shot in Portland by PPD after shooting two other people, was the best Portlandia could muster as a casus belli–didn’t seem to resonate as much as George Floyd.
Kendra James comes to mind. I don’t exactly have an encyclopedic knowledge of the long history of racist PPD abuses, but coming up with one off the cuff wasn’t very hard.
One can always find an example, no matter how much an outlier. It does not always represent a norm, though.
You can tell what race the driver of a car is when they are not in the car?
They’re calling it “NO PLATE WEDNESDAYS”. Check out the PPB Bike Central Instagram feed, 21K followers. Several no plate stops had outstanding warrants. https://www.instagram.com/PPBCentralBikeSquad/
Well kudos to the ppb…..you undoubtedly made 5 ppl who couldn’t afford to license (their home or their only way to get to work or look f or work) in the democratic bloodbath of an economy…..and yet they still bitch about homelessness……that’s rich.
LOL. Multiple had outstanding warrants, one had a replica firearm. Few (if any) appeared to be hardworking folks just trying to get home , tuck kids into bed and read their Bible. If you’re interested in some more specifics, see the Bike Central Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/PPBCentralBikeSquad/
No one forced them to drive without legit plates. Gee, they could have ridden a bike . . . perish the thought.
Please learn how to use an ellipsis properly.
Please cruise N Columbia Blvd/Lombard/Kenton area. I see cars all the time up here without plates. Definitely more than 12 cars over here.
This is good. I think we also need license plates on bicycles. A lot of criminals use them and also a vast majority of bicyclists break laws non stop.
Oh, come on—do we really want to make biking, one of the healthiest and most eco-friendly ways to get around, more expensive and complicated? Like, we’re already stuck paying that ridiculous bike purchase tax in Oregon! But hey, bike registration? Now that’s actually a smart idea. If more people registered their bikes, we could seriously cut down on theft. And guess what? It’s totally free on Bike Index or Project 529!
Check it out:
Bike Index
Project 529
NON-STOP!
Do you mean by not stopping where one should stop, or in a more figurative manner, like “24/7”?
Photo of a no plate stop.
Love it! Get them all off the road
Ooof only 23 comments in and this is a cesspool. Not looking forward to the next 4 years.
Make Portland Great Again!
It is astounding to me that this is news! Jonathon is right to cover it, it is newsworthy, and good for them for enforcing laws. But this is the job of PPS. What else are they doing all day that doing this one time (or once a week) is such an exciting change? Do PPS only react to calls or complaints, fill out reports, etc. and there is little to no proactive policing action. Or have they been focusing on other strategies. Does anyone actually know?
Storm…
Proactive community based policing is very difficult to do with severe understaffing which is the situation in Portland.
It’s also difficult when a vocal minority complains, even when they don’t represent all of a particular community.
Folks, you can always report parked cars without plates to the city. I do this on a regular basis and they do eventually get towed away. The city has gradually loosened the criteria for what they will respond to and tags now just need to be at least 3 months past expiration. https://www.portland.gov/transportation/parking/abandoned-auto
I report cars almost daily in my neighborhood the last 4 years and I would say they’ve vastly tightened the criteria, not loosened it. I use to be able to report cars for just about any reason and they responded within 24-48 hrs. now I’ve reported one obviously stolen and abandoned car, with WA plates and broken windows, that has been here for almost a year, 4 times with no action because the plates aren’t expired. they don’t even give me the drop down choice anymore to report it.
I used to use the pdx reporter, but now they direct you to a phone number that doesn’t seem to get answered.
The old Portland switcheroo.
“PPB has found that often times vehicles without plates are either stolen, used in the commission of a crime, or connected to other crimes.”
Can we really make that assumption though? Like can we just assume that most bikes in homeless camps are stolen, too?
I think we know the answer.
It’s a good assumption to make, because it is often true, as this article highlights.
Can we get some out here in 97206?
I’d love to see cars with tinted license plate covers ticketed, as well as cars with front only license plates