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County Sheriff Mike Reese requires extra site visitors enforcement to stem tide of violence

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head shot of man in a police uniform.

Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese.

“I’d hope [the Portland Police Bureau] would reconstitute their site visitors division and focus these assets in excessive crash corridors.”
— Mike Reese, Multnomah County Sheriff

Multnomah County Sheriff (and former Portland Police Bureau Chief) Mike Reese issued an open letter to the neighborhood on Friday that mentioned he’s “Deeply involved about present traits in neighborhood violence.” Among the many 5 actions he thinks will assist stem tide is a larger deal with site visitors enforcement.

Reese’s letter outlined a close to 30-year excessive within the variety of jail bookings for murder-related costs and different severe crimes. He additionally talked about the traditionally excessive variety of traffic-related fatalities.

“We have to act with a way of urgency,” Sheriff Reese wrote. “Summer season is approaching, a time once we usually expertise elevated violence in our neighborhood… With out motion, we will anticipate worse to return.”

With regards to making streets safer, right here’s what Reese needs to do:

Interact in centered site visitors enforcement in excessive crash corridors to cut back reckless and impaired driving. Base the deployment technique on time-of-day and day-of-the-week when site visitors fatalities and gun violence are more than likely to happen and overlap.

Reached on the cellphone for remark this morning, Reese mentioned the County has about 100 deputy sheriffs on obligation, a quantity dwarfed by the Portland Police Bureau’s 700 officers. However the jurisdiction and inhabitants the County patrols can also be a lot smaller. Along with unincorporated components of the Portland area like Sylvan, Sauvie Island and Corbett, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Workplace has contracts to supply policing to Gresham, Troutdale, and Fairview. Their beat consists of giant sections of I-84 and main arterial streets like Glisan and Halsey.

Whereas the areas within the County’s jurisdiction are a lot much less populated, they see most of the similar issues we now have in Portland.

[Portland Police will de-emphasize minor traffic violations in move toward racial justice]

“Definitely on the site visitors associated enforcement, we’ve seen an uptick in site visitors fatalities and reckless driving occasions,” Reese shared at the moment. “We’re doing every part we will to encourage protected driving and never via simply citations, via our presence by ensuring that we’re proactively stopping individuals engaged in actually harmful driving habits. Like reckless driving and impaired or distracted driving, failing to yield to pedestrians, issues that get individuals severely injured.”

Reese additionally mentioned he’s involved about steps taken by PPB Chief Chuck Lovell to dismantle the Site visitors Division.

“It does concern me and it does impression your entire area. Portland has such a big jurisdiction — whether or not it’s on public security, neighborhood livability, transportation points — Portland has a big footprint and a regional impression on different jurisdictions round it. It does concern these of us that work across the metropolis of Portland, and as an individual who lives within the metropolis it deeply considerations me. The variety of site visitors fatalities, the reckless driving I see on streets. Portland has disbanded their site visitors unit and I feel that is among the three legs of a stool that helps us have protected streets. Site visitors calming units are actually vital. And training is absolutely vital. And site visitors enforcement in sustaining protected streets. You want all three.”

Reese mentioned he needs the PPB to, “Reconstitute their site visitors division and focus these assets in excessive crash corridors, significantly the place you see an overlap with gun violence. So that you’re going to have an additional advantage by placing boots on the bottom in these excessive crash corridors, lowering the potential for actually tragic outcomes with accidents and fatalities. And also you’re additionally going to dissuade individuals from partaking in gun violence.”