Portlanders
want all neighborhoods to feel safe.
Those
Portlanders who feel safe in their neighborhoods deeply cherish this
sense of safety, both for themselves and for their families. They view
safe neighborhoods and safe streets as key components of urban
livability that must be preserved as the city grows. However, many
others express feeling unsafe in the neighborhoods where they live.
They fear property crime, gangs, drug users, speeding traffic, and in
some cases, even the police. Portlanders want all of the city’s
neighborhoods—including the downtown—to feel safe both to residents and
those who are passing through. However, they disagree about what
measures are needed to achieve increased safety. Some advocate for more
police and others for fewer police, while the largest group believes
that the solution lies in better communication and more effective
partnerships between the police and local residents.
Note: This section touches on themes that
are also addressed in Urban Livability: Neighborhood Livability
and Urban Livability: Family Friendly.
- Neighborhood
safety is a key ingredient of urban livability.
- Many of
Portland’s neighborhoods already feel safe.
- People want all of Portland’s
neighborhoods to be safe.
- Will more police officers
make neighborhoods feel safer?
- Neighborhood
safety is a key ingredient of urban livability.
- A very large number of Portlanders feel that in
order for neighborhoods to be truly livable, they
must be safe.
- Safe neighborhoods are also family-friendly neighborhoods,
where people feel comfortable raising children and
settling long term.
- Portlanders identify safe neighborhoods as possessing
the following characteristics:
- Safe bus stops;
- Neighborhood streets that are safe for children
at play;
- Paved, well-kept streets and sidewalks, which
demonstrate that the neighborhood is cared for
and not neglected;
- Safe and well-maintained parks where many
neighbors gather to recreate and build community;
- Neighbors who know each other and/or greet
each other on the streets;
- Walkable neighborhoods, which encourage people
to be “out and about,” and therefore aware of
neighborhood activity;
- A strong sense of community, which many feel
deters criminal activity;
- Visible, friendly police officers who know
residents and spend time in and around the neighborhood;
and
- Buildings that are well-maintained and not
allowed to become dilapidated or abandoned.
- It is very important to many respondents to live
in “safe and clean” neighborhoods where crime and
violence are not a threat.
| "Improve
the physical conditions of the streets and enforce
the speed limits in all neighborhoods so that
kids can play safely and there can be greater
sense of community shared among neighbors (rather
than them spending their days inside or in private
back yards).” |
| "Establish
things that bind a community together: livable/affordable
housing, parks, community centers, etc… this will
make people feel that they belong to a group—less
likely to commit crimes, etc…” |
- “Enforcement of speed limits and pedestrian
right-of-way in neighborhoods; these are essential
to Portland’s civility and livability.”
- Individual neighborhoods should be empowered to
“clean up” their own streets.
- Give tax incentives to citizens who volunteer
for community safety projects.
- Turn closed neighborhood schools into community
centers.
- Many
of Portland’s neighborhoods already feel safe.
- A large number of respondents comment on how safe
they already feel in certain neighborhoods.
- Residents who speak of feeling safe in their neighborhoods
value this safety highly.
- Neighborhoods with a strong sense of identity
and community tend to be neighborhoods where people
feel safe.
- Neighborhoods with friendly and bustling street
activity also instill a sense of safety in residents
and visitors.
- Many Portlanders value the scale of their neighborhoods,
believing that they are the right size to retain
a feeling of safety.
| "I
feel safe in my neighborhood and connected to
my neighbors. This sense of solidarity has eluded
me in the anonymous suburban stretches surrounding
Portland proper.” |
| “I
value feeling safe in our neighborhoods. It’s
hard to find that these days in most large metropolitan
cities.” |
| “…It
is safe. People are always out and about because
there are lots of fun activities, they are interacting
with their friends and neighbors and they know
they are safe.” |
- People
want all of Portland’s neighborhoods to be safe.
- Many respondents speak of feeling unsafe in their
neighborhoods.
- Others speak of feeling unsafe downtown or when
passing through neighborhoods in which they do not
live.
- Factors that lead people to feel unsafe in certain
areas include:
- The presence of drug houses in certain neighborhoods,
and especially the prevalence of “meth houses”
in Southeast Portland;
- People openly selling drugs, using drugs
or under the influence of drugs in parks, at
bus stops, or loitering in certain neighborhoods;
- The presence of panhandlers, mentally ill
individuals, drug users and “street kids” in
downtown Portland;
- Lack of adequate street lighting in certain
neighborhoods; and
- A
heavy police presence in certain neighborhoods, especially those with a
larger number of people of color (residents of color often mention
fearing racial profiling by police).
- Portlanders want each of the city’s neighborhoods
to feel like small, walkable villages where children
can run to the store and their parents don’t have
to worry about crime, traffic or distance.
| “I
grew up in NE Portland and now fear for my security
when returning to the area I grew up in.” |
| “When
I see 12 police cars fly by me with their lights
on at 50 miles per hour on NE Skidmore at 8pm
and then I never see or hear any reason for it,
that concerns me as a resident of this neighborhood.” |
| “[I
would like to see] More emphasis on crime reduction
and greater resources for lower income neighborhoods
and families with limited resources. I’ve had
my house burglarized, items stolen from my car
and the car of a visiting friend. I would like
to feel safe in my neighborhood and comfortable
when my daughters want to go play in the driveway
without my supervision.” |
- Provide more public restrooms downtown
and patrol them for safety at night.
- Increase visible police presence in certain neighborhoods,
but do not engage in racial profiling.
- Integrate police officers into high-crime neighborhoods,
so they build trust with local residents and work
with them to deter crime.
- Increase foot patrols, police bicycle patrols
and horse patrols, all of which build community
and create positive visibility for police.
- Create community centers in each neighborhood
where people can access public safety resources.
These will become neighborhood hubs where people
interested in supporting neighborhood safety can
meet and strategize.
|
- Will
more police officers make neighborhoods feel safer?
Throughout this section, it becomes clear that Portlanders
have different visions about how to make the city’s unsafe
neighborhoods feel safer. Some Portlanders believe that
more police officers would help turn unsafe neighborhoods
around. These individuals advocate for more funding for
the Portland Police Bureau, so that more officers can be hired
and assigned to beats in the city’s more dangerous areas.
| “Gang
and graffiti activity seems to be increasing. We need
more police on the beat.” |
| “Get
the drugs off of 82nd and staff some more police.” |
A larger group of community members proposes a different
vision. These people want to see a greater police presence
in unsafe neighborhoods, but believe that this can and
should happen without an increase in the size of the police
force. Instead, current police officers need to make themselves
much more visible within neighborhoods, getting out of
their cars more to “meet and greet” residents, attend
community meetings, interact with youth and build positive
relationships with local residents. According to this
perspective, a small number of officers can have a large
impact in a neighborhood by working hard to make their
presence felt and enlisting local residents to help them
in their crime-fighting efforts.
| "[We
need] Community Policing – think Broken Windows theory,
not just white cops driving around in their cars – where
citizens and officers know one another and are equally
involved.” |
Finally,
a smaller group of respondents feels that police presence is not the
answer, and may actually be part of the problem. Because they perceive
police as using excessive force, intimidating many residents and
engaging in racial profiling, they argue that a large police presence
in a neighborhood can actually make local residents feel less safe,
contributing to their need to carry weapons or live in a fearful,
anxious state. People who share this view feel that unsafe
neighborhoods can be made safer primarily through the efforts of local
residents, who can form safety committees, neighborhood watch programs,
foot-patrols and similar grassroots efforts.
| “We
need more safety committees and fewer police.” |
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