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The Portland City Council this week passed a policy that alters the city’s nuisance code in an effort to quell sexual exploitation and trafficking along thoroughfares, including 82nd Avenue.
Championed by Councilor Steve Novick, the policy proved to be a controversial one that ignited impassioned debate on the council about the historic unfairness of complaint-driven enforcement and the role of police.
The policy amends the city’s existing chronic nuisance property code to include activities like operation of a massage business in violation of state law, possession of a loaded firearm, and prostitution procurement. If a property receives at least three nuisance complaints within a 90-day time frame—either documented through a police report or a declaration by law enforcement that it has probable cause to believe that such activity has occurred—then the city administrator would have the authority to require that the property owner take steps to abate the nuisance.
The ordinance passed by a 7-5 vote. All of the progressive caucus members of councilors voted against it, expect for Council President Jamie Dunphy, who voted yes.
The fault line on council was whether or not police could be trusted to enforce the ordinance fairly and without prejudice—and whether the ordinance would work as intended or just push victims of sex trafficking deeper into the underground.
Dunphy said that while he was concerned about unequal application of enforcement by police based on historical instances of bias, he trusts that the police bureau intends to do the right thing with Novick’s policy.
“When we make the wrong decisions about where to place trust and grant discretion, the results can define a generation of public attitudes towards police and public safety,” Dunphy said. “My support is rooted in the belief that an agency can change, that it can grow, and that it does not have to repeat its history, and that it cannot do that unless we give it the grace to try.”
Councilors opposing the policy says it gives police officers too much discretion in enforcement, therefore risking biased application that could disproportionately harm communities of color.
“I don’t have the same confidence in the police to not disproportionately impact the communities that I represent,” Councilor Candace Avalos said.
