Case Study 1
Bend Police Department
Strengthening a long-existing culture of innovation and community engagement.
History
Bend is served by the Bend Police Department (BPD).4 The BPD is divided into four divisions including support, business, patrol, and investigation. As of 2020, approximately 100 sworn officers and over 30 professional staff worked for the BPD under the supervision of Police Chief Jim Porter, who served as chief from January 2014 to April 2020.5 In August of 2020, Chief Michael Krantz, was selected to lead the department.
Since the release of the 21st Century Policing Task Force Report, the BPD has adopted a variety of its key concepts. The department’s 2015-2020 strategic plan pursued several improvements congruent with the Report’s recommendations, including increasing trust, transparency, employee safety and wellness, community engagement, and technology.6 Building on BPD’s long-existing culture of innovation and increasing focus on community engagement, the BPD continued to regularly survey community sentiment and has tracked increasing community trust in the department over recent years. The BPD has also continued to emphasize employee wellness, implementing several innovative programs that have been nationally recognized as promising practices for law enforcement agencies.7
1. Unless otherwise noted, information in this case study was derived from interviews and focus groups with Bend Police Department and City of Bend personnel, and Bend community members, conducted from November 2020 through January 2021.
2. https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/bend-oregon. See also: https://ktvz.com/news/bend/2020/10/12/report-bend-ranks-as-the-nations-second-fastest-growing-city/
3. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/bendcityoregon
4. https://www.visitbend.com/things-to-do/
5. https://www.bendoregon.gov/government/departments/police/organization-chart
6. https://www.bendoregon.gov/home/showpublisheddocument?id=40129
7. https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/bend-police-department-featured-justice-department-report-improving-safety-and-wellness
Pillar 1
Building Trust & Legitimacy
Based on the interviews conducted with a selection of BPD members, over recent years, the BPD has prioritized establishing trust and legitimacy both internally among staff and externally with the community they serve. As recommended by the Report, the BPD conducts regular community surveys to track the level of trust their community has in the department.
In 2017 and 2019, the BPD collaborated with Portland State University to conduct surveys on perceptions of safety and BPD performance, which were used to help the city and BPD identify community issues and inform future priorities and budgets. The surveys found significant increases in respondents’ assessments of BPD’s community engagement efforts and level of trust in the department from 2017 to 2019. By 2019, over 80 percent of respondents reported having confidence in the Bend police and reported that Bend police are trustworthy.8 The BPD has used these and other internal surveys to inform strategic planning, identifying emerging challenges and future goals to address community expectations of service and support the wellbeing of employees.9
In interviews with the NPF assessment team, some department and community members recognized the selection and hiring process of new BPD members as one means to ensure recruits will support and expand on the department’s existing culture around trust, respect, and community-oriented service provision. In addition to testing and background checks, BPD recruits undergo a thorough interview process that aims to identify applicants’ approaches to service and interaction with other people. By emphasizing values of trust and respect from interview panels to personnel evaluations and award ceremonies, BPD leadership has sought to instill these values throughout the department’s culture.
8. https://www.bendoregon.gov/home/showdocument?id=41253
9. https://www.bendoregon.gov/home/showpublisheddocument?id=43843
Pillar 2
Policy & Oversight
Pillar 3
Technology & Media
11. https://twitter.com/BendCityPolice. See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm34ziJKu0
12. https://centraloregondaily.com/bend-pd-hosts-drone-training-conference-more-departments-using-uas/
13. https://kbnd.com/kbnd-news/local-news-feed/479254. See also: https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/bend-police-drone-force-taking-off-to-fight-crime/article_b8965f3f-c953-5fc5-8071-18636fef2620.html
Pillar 4
Community Policing & Crime Reduction
BPD members report a long history of community policing as a philosophy of working with the community in partnership to solve problems and interact in non-enforcement ways. As one member described, Bend has a “small town feeling of service, but we are not really a small town.”14 As a growing city, Bend thus retains a small community feel. Some members described that officers are expected to attend events if they are occurring in their district. In 2017, the BPD implemented a Community Enhancement Program (CEP), which incentivizes department members to increase contacts with community groups and youth and improve communication with the public.
To gauge an agency’s community policing and outreach efforts, it is essential to ask the community for their perspective and experience. In that vein, the NPF team reached out to the Bend community to get feedback. Several community members reported having positive and constructive experiences with the department, who was perceived as very open to community input and involving the community in their problem-solving strategies.15
Insights from Community Interviews
Noticeable Changes in Tactical Responses
Guardian Vs. Warrior
Accountability
Racial Tensions
Some community members also felt that the racial tensions between communities of color and the BPD are undoubtedly present in Bend, and whilst Bend’s majority White residents may hold mostly positive opinions about the department, the same cannot be generalized to its non-White residents. A member felt that until the BPD promotes command staff that represents and understands Bend’s communities of color, not much improvement in those particular police-community relationships will happen.
When asked if they have perceived a change in policing practices over time, one member stated that there has been a positive change, “There’s been growth in the hiring of patrol officers to keep up with the demand. That growth in numbers has translated to growth in community relationships too because now there is more presence to interact with the community”. Another member had a less positive answer, “It hasn’t gotten worse. But it’s still unsatisfactory to people of color”. Another member felt that, historically, the Bend community has trusted and valued the BPD, but that current events, the media, and the national distrust for the police institution has hampered some of that local trust. Another member noted that there have been notable positive changes, but that not all community members empathize with how difficult the policing job is.
14. NPF assessment team interview with Bend Police Department member, November 23, 2020.
15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm34ziJKu0 Taylor, Ted and Roberts, Heather. Feds retrieve 2 men detained by ICE in Bend after protesters block transport buses. Central Oregon Daily News.
16. https://centraloregondaily.com/feds-retrieve-2-men-detained-by-ice-in-bend-after-protesters-block-transport-buses/
17. https://www.opb.org/article/2020/10/04/violence-erupts-at-bend-demonstrations/
Pillar 5
Training & Education
BPD members noted a prioritization of training within the department and advancements in certain areas of training in recent years, such as on crisis intervention, de-escalation, and implicit bias. Some members noted that BPD training has become much more scenario-based, with scenarios adapted from real police incidents.
The NPF assessment team also met with members of partnering organizations that conduct or assist the BPD with trainings. Overall, they expressed positive perceptions on the advancements the BPD has made in de-escalation and crisis intervention training (CIT), in which almost all officers are fully trained in. It was also noted that the level of awareness and understanding on issues related to homelessness, substance use, and mental health have improved department wide.
Pillar 6
Officer Wellness & Safety
Conclusion
Challenges & Next Steps for Policing
Challenges
Community Service Role and Officer Wellness Improvement
Boston PD members identified several challenges for policing, not necessarily specific to Bend. One issue is figuring out the role of law enforcement as well as other parts of government in addressing and responding to certain types of societal issues like mental health, substance use, or homelessness. Others mentioned an ongoing need for police members to continue to examine, reflect, and improve on their professional provision of service to the community, whether its better understanding the role of bias in individual interactions or continuing to improve existing wellness programming to be effective for staff. In this spirit of continual improvement, some interviewees mentioned further opportunities for growth in Bend’s community engagement, particularly with underserved and minority communities; diversity in recruitment; and police-community communication and transparency.
Continued Improvement
Data-informed Strategic Planning and Reflections
Cover Picture Source: Social Media Manager, Bend Police Department
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