One in Two Arrests in Portland Are of Homeless People

"One in every two arrests made by the Portland Police Bureau last year was of a homeless person," report Rebecca Woolington and Melissa Lewis.

That conclusion followed analysis by the The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"The number of arrests is dramatically disproportionate to Portland's homeless population. People experiencing homelessness represent a tiny fraction of the city's overall population -- well below 3 percent even using the biggest estimates," explain Woolington and Lewis. "Yet in 2017, they accounted for 52 percent of arrests."

The statistics raise several questions. One is whether it is constitutional to criminalize homelessness with such stark severity. Another is about the costs to social welfare that police spend so much time dealing with such a small portion of the population. Another is whether this approach could possibly solve the problem. Tristia Bauman, senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, is quoted in the article saying this response is "wholly ineffective."

According to the article, the number of arrests of homeless people "has grown amid calls from Portland business and neighborhood leaders for police to stop street-level crime, such as disorderly conduct and drug use, outside their front doors."