Community members, particularly minorities, are distrustful of Portland police. They don’t believe the Portland Police Bureau is well-managed or does an effective job reducing crime in the city.

Most officers believe the community doesn’t understand the job of a cop. They feel there’s a disconnect with City Hall and that the mayor is more swayed by politics than what’s best for the bureau. They doubt change is possible in the bureau.

The views from both community members and police on the state of policing in Portland came from online surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews done by consultants between last June and November and are outlined in a new report released late Tuesday.

Corragio Group, a local consulting firm, held focus groups with a total of about 165 people, 35 interviews with city officials, police staff, city commissioners and members of the city’s Independent Police Review division, surveyed about 3,100 residents online and held three public meetings.

The information is intended to help the bureau develop a five-year strategic plan.

The conversations showed residents want police to drop what they perceive as an “us versus them’’ mentality on the job and be more effective following up with victims of crime. Communities of color feel police enforce laws selectively based on race.

Local residents surveyed seek a consistent and visible police presence, where officers take time to get out of their cars, do more foot patrols and build real relationships in the neighborhoods they serve.

Ninety-five percent of officers surveyed say they’re less willing to stop and question people who seem suspicious because they’re worried about how their actions will be reviewed and investigated.

Among the study’s findings:

-- 71 percent of community members indicate that they don’t have a high level of trust with the Police Bureau. This lack of trust grows in communities of color to 85 percent of black residents surveyed who lack trust in police, 87 percent in Asian communities, 77 percent in multi-ethnic communities and 75 percent in Native American communities.

-- Community members appreciate the risks officers face every day and understand that isolated poor performance shouldn’t characterize the broader organization. But most – or 91 percent - of officers surveyed believe that the public doesn’t understand what it means to be a cop.

-- More than half of officers feel burnt out, frustrated and emotionally exhausted by work.

-- 79 percent of community members surveyed believe the Police Bureau only sometimes, rarely or never does a good job at reducing or preventing crimes in Portland.

“The PPB needs to understand that sometimes quality of life crimes, such as vandalism, the defacement of public property, illegal homeless camps on public property, auto theft and vandalism, are the most important in gaining the trust of the public and its cooperation,’’ one resident wrote.

-- 67 percent of community members feel police response times to emergency calls need to improve.

-- 63 percent of community members believe that having a police Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team officer respond to a call involving someone in a mental health crisis is useful toward resolving the situation. The team officers receive additional training beyond the 40 hours of crisis intervention training that all officers must complete.

-- 92 percent of officers believe effectively responding to mental health calls is a priority for the bureau.

-- 75 percent of community members would welcome a more relationship-based approach to policing.

-- 49 percent of officers are afraid to blow the whistle on things they find wrong within the agency.

-- 46 percent of the sworn officers are skeptical that change is possible in the bureau.

-- 71 percent of the community respondents are unsure or disagree that the bureau is well-managed by professional leaders.

-- Most police staff don’t think the bureau’s leaders communicate effectively with the media and public.

-- 56 percent of officers don’t think the bureau’s goals are clear and say their leaders don’t set clear expectations.

-- 75 percent of bureau staff members feel they have too much work to do and that prevents proactive policing.

-- Some officers believe that important trainings on shoot/don’t shoot scenarios and less-lethal force have taken a back seat to de-escalation, mental health and implicit bias training due to political and community pressures, while community members believe additional training hours should be spent on the latter topics.

-- 76 percent of officers believe the bureau’s Employee Information System is ineffective in identifying officers at risk of getting into trouble.

-- Over half of police civilian staff questioned feel their work isn’t appreciated as much as the work of sworn officers.

-- At times, the public’s perception of the Police Bureau can be discouraging for officers as many believe they give more than they get back on the job. Many understand they’re in a service-oriented job, but at times say it can seem thankless.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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