Loretta Lynch

Attorney General Loretta Lynch is set to visit Portland this Wednesday and Thursday to recognize the city's community policing initiatives. Portland is one of six cities her office has selected as being a role model in its policing strategies. Her visit comes as the city is working to abide by a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that stemmed from federal findings that police used excessive force against people with mental illness. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

(Jose Luis Magana)

U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch will arrive Wednesday afternoon in Portland for a visit of just over 24 hours to highlight community policing partnerships here -- one of six cities that her office has chosen as public safety role models.

Lynch is expected to meet privately with members of the Oregon U.S. Attorney's Office and city officials, then visit Thursday with community members in prearranged sessions.

Oregon U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said he encouraged Lynch to consider highlighting Portland in her tour of cities this year.

"I'm sort of waving the flag, if you will, for Portland, because I felt like the way people get involved here is special,'' Williams said in an interview Sunday with The Oregonian/OregonLive. "We have every reason in the world to be proud of how we go about the job of addressing many of the hard issues that communities face.''

Lynch, who was confirmed last April as the nation's top prosecutor, said that strengthening the relationship between police and citizens is one of her top priorities. A week into her new job, Lynch met with community and faith leaders and politicians in Baltimore after six police officers were charged in the death of Freddie Gray, who was injured in police custody.

Lynch also launched a national Community Policing Tour to draw attention to innovative policing programs and community work. She's in the second phase of the tour. Portland was selected among cities that "have excelled'' in addressing initiatives identified in the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

Lynch selected Portland to recognize its community policing work.

"During the second phase of my Community Policing Tour, I will be highlighting some of the innovative efforts underway around the country to build trust, foster cooperation and enhance public safety,'' Lynch said, in a prepared statement.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch's Thursday visit

9 a.m.: George Middle School's G.R.E.A.T. class

11:30 a.m.: Blazers Boys & Girls Club community policing roundtable

1:15 p.m.: Press availability at the Blazers Boys & Girls Club

Williams pointed out that city officials, including Commissioner Dan Saltzman and former Mayor Sam Adams, requested that the U.S. Department of Justice examine city police practices. That led to a federal investigation of the Portland Police Bureau and findings in 2012 that officers used excessive force against people with mental illness.

He acknowledged that the city is still working on changes to police policy, training and oversight required under the resulting federal settlement, but noted: "Changing the culture of policing was started before the settlement agreement began.''

"We're not there yet,'' he said. "Not everything is going to be fixed in a day, as we know. The settlement agreement is a multi-year process.''

Among the programs expected to be featured during Lynch's visit are:

-- The city's twice-a-month meetings of the gang violence task force - now called Community Peace Collaborative -- which brings police, residents and city officials together to address gang-related violence and identify prevention programs and enforcement.

-- The volunteer work of local church leaders, who have walked in hot spots such as North Albina Avenue and Killingsworth Street to stem tensions and reduce crime there.

-- The Police Bureau's Behavioral Health Unit started to improve police contacts with people with mental illness.

-- Multnomah County's Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, which draws leaders of the county's public safety agencies together once a month, and its Justice Reinvestment Program to find alternatives to prison.

-- The Police Bureau's Neighborhood Involvement Locations (NILoc) program that dispatches officers to problem spots several times a day for 10 to 15 minutes at a time to provide a police presence and build relationships.

Lynch is expected to visit George Middle School in North Portland to observe the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) curriculum, and hold a community policing roundtable discussion at the Blazers Boys and Girls Club in Northeast Portland with community leaders, police, faith leaders and youth.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, who leads the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, will meet with the city-hired compliance team and members of the community oversight panel monitoring the city's settlement agreement.

While Portland still faces turmoil in its police oversight system, frustration among rank-and-file officers about staffing shortages and continued concerns raised by Justice officials about the bureau's inadequate data collection and ability to learn from past mistakes, Williams and others in his office said community members have forums where they can air their issues.

"There's already those tables where the community can have a voice,'' said Suzanne Hayden, hired recently as an assistant U.S. attorney and counsel to Williams on community engagement and strategic enforcement.

Williams said he's excited to welcome Lynch to Portland, calling her a dynamic leader. He said he expects it to be a "thrilling day for people in the trenches'' who volunteer hours of their time to improve public safety and police and community relations but often aren't recognized for their "thankless work.''

The cities on Lynch's tour were chosen because they embody a particular trait of successful policing, such as effective use of data, strong community relationships or a commitment to officer safety.

In early February, she visited Miami-Dade County to highlight "building trust and legitimacy.'' Other cities on her tour are Fayetteville, North Carolina, to highlight police policy and oversight; Los Angeles for technology and social media; Phoenix for officer training and education; and Indianapolis for officer safety and wellness.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian