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Page A4
December 21. 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Better Training, Policies and Diversity
Police Bureau to
meet community
expectations
C hief D errick F oxworth
As we say good-bye to 2(X)5 it is part
of a new year's tradition to look ahead
and make resolutions about the coming
year. But before I talk about 2006, let's
take a look at 2005 and the Portland
Police Bureau’s accomplishments with
the community’s help.
TRAINING
With community input, the Portland
Police Bureau has made great strides in
its training of officers. Re-instating the
40-hour in-service last year, officers
were trained in cultural competency
and this year, they are receiving training
on perspectives in profiling. They are
also receiving training in driving tactics
and responding to critical incidents that
will help in keeping them and commu­
nity members safe. Our Advanced
by
Academy officers are receiving even
more community policing training, and
we continue to add more officers trained
in crisis intervention—diffusing situa­
tions involving people in mental crisis
or with developmental disabilities.
DIRECTIVES
The Bureau has 193 Directives—or
policies—that govern everything we
do. This year, with a lot of community
input, the Bureau revised the directive
on taser use as well as our use of deadly
force directive. We are currently work­
ing on revising our vehicle pursuit policy
as well as adding a new directive on
foot pursuits.
HIRINGZRECRLITING
With help from the community, and
our partners at Portland Community
College and TriMet, we launched an
aggressive campaign this year designed
to increase diversity in hiring police
officers. The Bureau launched a new
website (joinportlandpolice.com), and
produced an ad campaign that is on a
TriMet bus and bus benches that fea­
tures Portland Police Officers’ per­
sonal stories about why they joined law
enforcement. We also assigned a re­
cruitment officer to be out in the com­
munity more, at PCC’s Cascade Cam­
pus one day a week, at job fairs and
other functions.
Working with our partners at the
people who might not have considered
a career in law enforcement if they are
interested in serving the City of Port­
land.
In regard to hiring, the Bureau asked
citizens to join us in oral interviews of
police officer candidates. I believe it is
I want to thank many of
you who have assisted the
Portland Police Bureau
with its community policing
efforts this year.
Bureau of Human Resources, we also
made some changes to our testing,
including conducting workshops prior
to testing in order to provide people
with some insight on how to test to
become a Portland Police Officer. I am
enthusiastic over these changes and
feel that we are on the right path to ask
— Chief Derrick
Foxworth
imperative that citizens participate on
our hiring boards and help provide valu­
able input on future police officers.
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
This year, the Police Bureau hosted a
series of open houses at each of our five
precincts. Designed to be mini public
safety fairs, police officers were able to
talk to community members about any
concerns and issues they have. We also
held our second Citizens Academy,
where comm unity members spent
weeks learning about why police do
what we do.
Finally, we put more officers on
bikes and on foot to walk the parks in
your neighborhoods to increase visibil­
ity, while also engaging more citizens in
conversation. Citizens from through­
out the city also joined us in distributing
crime prevention material regarding how
to prevent car prowls and burglaries.
There are so many partnerships to be
proud of—including our continued re­
lationship with organizations that serve
our young people and help mentor them
to make positive choices. Our partner­
ship with the Albina Ministerial Alliance
and organizations such as Project Clean
Slate are critically important to me.
2006
So as we near 2006, what will the
Police Bureau be working on as an
continued
on page A5
Rebuilding New Orleans, Gulf Coast Area
President should keep promise
U.S. R ep . E d T owns
On Aug. 29, the United
States experienced its
worst natural disaster in
history. Hurricane Katrina
battered the Gulf Coast
states of Louisiana, Mis­
sissippi and Alabama
leaving in her wake an unprec­
edented amount of dislocation
and destruction.
Hurricane Katrina exposed the
depths of poverty in this country
and the callousness of this Ad­
ministration. We witnessed the
slow federal response
to the misery and des­
peration of thousands
of American citizens
sequestered at the New
Orleans Superdome,
waiting on bridges or
clinging to their roof­
by
tops.
Today, we still have thousands
of people without housing, jobs,
food, medicine, and for the dis­
placed, no answer to the ques­
tion: When can I go home? In
New Orleans, much of the city is
Are you
or i
someone
you know
pregnant
©
I
still without power.
Just this week, the President
told NBC News that $62 billion is
on the table for the Gulf Coast. If
that is the case, we need to get
the money off the table and into
the hands of the people who need
it.
We have people who need to
get a reprieve from paying their
mortgages until their homes are
in a livable condition. Business
owners need assistance getting
their businesses up and running.
Those individuals unemployed at
the end of February need to know
that they will have their unem-
Healthy Birth Initiative can help.
HBI offers:
• Transportation to medical and social
service appointments
• Home Visits
• Incentives
• Health education classes (free childcare and
transportation when attending any HBI
group or class)
• Information and referrals to community services
Strategies for
handling the stress
Healthy Birth Initiative
5329 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
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According to the University of Maryland Medical
Center, there are a number of signs and symptoms
that signal the presence of the holiday blues, such
as: headaches, inability to sleep or sleeping too
much, changes in appetite causing weight loss or
gain, agitation and anxiety, excessive or inappropri­
ate feelings of guilt, diminished ability to think
clearly or concentrate, and decreased interest in
activities that usually bring pleasure. If these symp­
toms persist, however, one may be experiencing a
depressive disorder.
There are several strategies that may be useful in
overcoming the holiday blues: Acknowledge your
pain and do not suf­
fer in silence. Con­
nect with a good
support system .
Connect to your
spiritual source.
Forgive yourself
and others for the
mistakes of the past.
Do not focus on
what went wrong;
rather focus on
what went right. Set
realistic goals and expectations for the coming year.
If your life has been shaken up this year, create
a new way of celebrating the holidays, but do not
forget the real reason for the season. Do something
special for yourself that will not cause financial
strain, such as take a long hot bubble bath.
Do something for others, such as volunteer time
at a shelter, hospital, church, nursing home, or
senior center. Be sure to maintain a healthy diet and
get sufficient rest and exercise. If symptoms con­
tinue to persist, seek the consultation of a profes­
sional mental health professional to assist you dur­
ing this critical time.
Dr. Gloria Morrow is a licensed clinical psy­
chologist and author o f Too Broken to he Fixed? A
Spiritual Guide to Inner Healing; Strengthening the
Ties that Bind.
This year has been
particularly difficult fo r
many people in the African
American community
because o f Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.
Arm: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208
I
D k . G loria M orrow
The holiday season can be
the loneliest time of the year.
Even though the research re­
futes the notion that the high­
est rate of suicides occurs in
the month of December, many
people do experience the holi­
day blues because of the loss of
a loved one, exhaustion, sepa­
ration from family and close
friends, feelings of failure due
to unmet goals and expecta­
tions, significant changes and
increased stress. Some may
even experience the holiday
blues because they cannot af­
ford to go Christmas shopping.
This year has been particu­
larly difficult for many people
in the African American com­
munity because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
and the massive loss of life, property, jobs and
familiar surroundings.
The war in Iraq has also caused many families
to be separated from loved ones either through
death or distance at this time of the year. Our
communities also have not been sufficiently insu­
lated from violence, unemployment and the high
homeless and poverty rates that make celebrating
during the holiday season less feasible. Even the
recent execution of Stanley Tookie Williams has
east a negative spin on the true meaning and
essence of Christmas. Unfortunately, these tragic
realities of the year may make people more at risk
of experiencing the holiday blues and more chronic
mental health problems, especially if they are
already vulnerable.
by
503-988-3387 x22242
503-?88-0033
the region is integral to the
economy of the nation and the
world. We are rebuilding Iraq.
We must rebuild New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast region.
The Congressional Black Cau­
cus has introduced HR 4197, a
bill designed to rebuild the Gulf
Coast region. I would like to urge
everyone to call their member of
Congress and tell them to vote
for HR 4197, the Congressional
Black Caucus bill to rebuild the
Gulf area.
Also call the White House and
let the President know that you
haven’t forgotten his promise to
rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf
Coast. Let him know that you
are asking him to keep his prom­
ise.
If we don’t keep Hurricane
Katrina on the front burner, our
leaders in Washington will gladly
take it off the stove.
Pick up the phone, write a
letter, send an email to support
HR 4197. Together, we can re­
build the Gulf region.
Ed Towns is a Congressman
from New York and a member of
the Congressional Black Caucus.
Overcoming the Holiday Blues
For m ore in fo rm a tio n contact:
Subscribe • I
phe. The manner in which FEMA
is handling this crisis is shame­
ful. Their lack of consistency
makes it extremely difficult to
effectively provide services to
those who need it most.
We must rebuild New Orleans
and the Gulf Coast region. The
culture of the city is unique and
If we don ’t keep Hurricane
Katrina on the front burner,
our leaders in Washington will
gladly take it off'the stove.
leans. Plus, enhance the small
businesses in the area.
The Federal Emergency Man­
agement Agency (FEMA) is the
Bush A d m in istratio n 's lead
agency handling this catastro­
Healthy Birth Initiative (HBI) is a
am for
African American women and their amines living
in N /N E Portland.
Health Department
ployment extended for another
26 weeks.
We need to bring home the
displaced residents of the Gulf
Coast region and include them
first in the rebuilding opportuni­
ties. This would employ those
who live in New Orleans, but
cannot find work in New Or­