The pay package – which includes $30,000 bonuses for recruits who make a starting salary of $42,411– represents a massive injection of funding over the next three years.
Cities that have defunded and demonized their police are now desperately trying to entice officers to sign up with hiring bonuses.
“We are really excited about the response we’ve been getting. People are telling us they want to join the City of Phoenix and we’re getting more and more people signing up to be recruits."
Addressing the council, Portland Police Bureau Captain Anthony Passadore described the bonuses as necessary to bring Portland in line with what other jurisdictions are offering in the highly competitive hiring market.
"[It has] been great coming back and getting back on the saddle here," said Johnson. "I came back mostly because of the cost of living. Also, I just wanted to do other things in policing, and I'm optimistic about Seattle," Officer Dion Johnson said.
"Many Portlanders no longer feel safe in their city," Mayor Ted Wheeler said during a news conference Wednesday. "Business owners have closed up shop, for fear of doing business in high risk areas. Commuters fear for their safety, whether taking public transport or going by foot. Parents are scared to let their children play outside."
County Executive Steve Bellone has announced that the county is hiring 705 law enforcement personnel, including almost 470 sworn officers. Ten percent of the new hires will speak Spanish.
Mayor Jenny Durkan, who is not seeking a second term, issued an executive order Friday creating an immediate incentive program for the hiring of 911 dispatchers and police officers, citing a "civil emergency" as staffing shortages have worsened with the onset of the vaccine mandate.
On July 12, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Department of Justice in the City of Los Angeles v. William P. Barr, Attorney General, lifting the nationwide injunction on COPS Hiring Program and the Microgrants.
Agencies are being forced to embrace new ways of reaching potential hires to fill their ranks.
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