PPB Continues to Rebuild Staffing (Photo)

December 15, 2022 17:09

In a special ceremony today, the Portland Police Bureau, appointed 14 new officers and recognized three others who were sworn-in at a small ceremony in November. For the first time in several months, the Bureau now has more than 800 total sworn members (804). This includes all ranks from Chief down to the 543 officers. Of those officers, 101 are in training.

PPB is building back from its lowest number of sworn members, which was 773 in September 2022. This was the lowest number of sworn members since 1989. The lowest number of members at the rank of officer was in May 2022, when there were 509 out of 609 authorized.

While these officers are being presented their badge today, it will be some time yet before they are fully trained and working in patrol cars. The training process for a new hire is 18 months, including the Basic Police Academy in Salem, a Portland Advanced Academy, and field training with a coach.

Also hired today were 3 new Public Safety Support Specialists, who are non-sworn, unarmed members in uniform who serve alongside sworn officers. PPB now has 34 PS3s, out of an authorized 70. More information about PS3s is available here: https://www.portland.gov/police/divisions/ps3s .

Today, the Bureau also hired three Mental Health Crisis Responders. The Bureau used to contract these positions with an outside agency, but made the decision to create PPB positions. Two more are expected to be hired in early 2023 and all will continue their work with PPB's Behavioral Health Unit (BHU).

In addition, at today's ceremony, PPB recognized a new Records Manager, Public Records Coordinator and three Records Specialists (a total of seven hired since late October). The Records Division has had several vacancies and will continue to staff up.

A video of today's ceremony can be found here: https://youtu.be/Z835XBxQnwA

The Portland Police Bureau still has 78 sworn vacancies and continues hiring both lateral and entry level community police officers. It's an exciting and rewarding career, with excellent benefits. Salary ranges $75k-$107k per year plus pay incentives. Benefits are 95% paid by the city. Visit https://JoinPortlandPolice.com for more information or to contact a recruiter.

For information about careers with the Portland Police Bureau as professional staff and Public Safety Support Specialists, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/portlandor?department[0]=Portland%20Police%20Bureau&department[1]=Police%20Training%20Division&sort=ClosingDate%7CAscending

Photo description: Officers being sworn in

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