Recently, Portland police reported that they were understaffed, which led to a delayed response of 30 to 40 minutes to an attempted kidnapping incident involving a 7-year-old girl at a waterfront park. Data just released indicates that the city usually has around 59 patrol officers available on the streets at any one time.
The Portland Police Bureau shared new staffing and response time figures as part of an effort to illustrate how limited resources can affect emergency response, and why these times can differ across the city.
On Saturday night, just before 7 p.m., police received a report about a naked man running through Tom McCall Waterfront Park. One caller even mentioned that the man had tried to punch someone. Unfortunately, officers were not able to respond right away because they were occupied with other emergencies.
About 12 minutes later, another caller informed authorities that the suspect had attempted to grab a 7-year-old girl, trying to pull her away from her mother.
Eventually, officers found Daniel Basie, 31, swimming in the nearby Willamette River. He was arrested and now faces several charges, including attempted kidnapping and custodial interference.
According to investigators, Basie grabbed the girl’s arm while her mother held her other arm, attempting to lift her off the ground. The girl’s father and bystanders quickly intervened, striking Basie and ultimately using pepper spray to fend him off.
Portland police said the family was visiting from out of state. Officers were reportedly tied up dealing with a suspect barricaded in the Old Town area and were unable to respond to the park for about 30 to 40 minutes after the initial call. Deputy Chief Brian Hughes mentioned at a recent news conference that significant incidents can exhaust available patrol resources quickly.
“We don’t have enough police officers to meet the demand for services,” Hughes stated.
Sergeant Matt Jacobson of the Major Crimes Unit discussed how such barricade situations can drain resources. He indicated that when such an event happens, it strains not just the immediate district but also the city as a whole.
That evening, the department had only 41 patrol officers on duty, with 10 working overtime, which was roughly a 24% shortfall from expected staffing levels. Hughes noted that in cases of simultaneous serious incidents, there are no extra patrol officers readily available to be called in.
Portland’s police department comprises 809 sworn members, including 572 officers. The staffing dashboard revealed that around 328 patrol officers are assigned to respond to 911 calls across three precincts. Given the nature of their work, patrol officers often rotate shifts, attend court, take vacations, or undergo training, which the department estimates leaves about 59 patrol officers available at any given time.
Officials project that in 2025, police will handle around 221,000 calls for service, which breaks down to about 605 calls daily—roughly one every 2.4 minutes. The recently released response time data indicates that delays primarily stem from calls waiting for available officers rather than from travel time.
For high-priority calls, the average response time is 19.5 minutes, with around 10.9 minutes spent waiting for available officers. Medium priority calls have an average response time of 46.7 minutes, while low priority calls can take nearly 95 minutes.
Due to the shortage of patrol units, officers often have to prioritize calls rather than respond swiftly. “We are just triaging calls as they come in,” Hughes explained.
Statistics show there are currently 68 sworn vacancies within the department, resulting in a police presence of about 1.26 officers per 1,000 residents in Portland, which is below the national average of approximately 2.4 per 1,000 residents.
Fox News Digital has attempted to gather more insights from the Portland Police Bureau regarding the ongoing staffing shortages and their effects on response times.
