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.” |
|
