My commute often takes me past Holliday Park on MAX, and I often see this common occurrence: TriMet or Portland Police cruisers positioned in the middle of the park. They’re not usually working on a situation, often it’s just an officer or two parked on the path and observing the area. I know that the area has occasionally had a bit of a rough reputation for crime, but I can’t help but wonder if the police-car-in-the-park system is the best deterrent. Something just seems a little funky in having patrol cars routinely stationed on the pedestrian paths of the park. What do you think?
{ 6 comments }
Don’t make any motions that resemble urinating on a tree. They may get out, chase you down, kill you, and get off with no consequences whatsoever.
I hate it when I just see a cop just driving down the west-bank waterfront. I hate it when I see cops toss on there lights just so they don’t have to wait for a stop light, or to make an illegal turn across traffic. My basic rule of thumb is if a cop cite me for doing something, then a cop should not be able to do it either, only exemption is if you are on an active call. A police person is just as much a citizen as we are, they should be held up to the same, if not greater standards, as there is the expectation that they understand the law better then the average citizen.
I welcome the police presence. They do this on occasion in Peninsula Park and it just makes me feel a little safer walking through the park. Of course, I am never doing anything that would draw their attention to me so I don’t worry about them chasing after me. And just so you know, when it seems the police have turned their lights on to get through a red light or make an illegal turn against traffic it is most often because they have just been dispatched on a call which is often then cancelled before they get very far.
I thought studies proved in the 70′s and 80′ that just having a cop car around wasn’t sufficient deterrent. Why not have cops out of the car engaging the community and maybe chatting people up? It is better if your community knows you when shitty situations happen. They may actually support the cop.
“Why not have cops out of the car engaging the community and maybe chatting people up? It is better if your community knows you when shitty situations happen. They may actually support the cop.”
I only see this as not working because you DO know how many people do not like the cops right? Many people see them as a necessary evil at best…I like the idea but I don’t think that it would work very well.
I’m with dieselboi – isn’t Portland supposed to be a fan of community-oriented policing? If the point is for the officers to be there as a deterrant, why not get out of their car, wander the park a bit, chat with folks at the MAX platform, etc?
Comments on this entry are closed.