Portland Mayor Pushes Forward Plan To Use Unarmed Police Officers

The mayor of Portland has plans to start a pilot program where non-sworn officers will not carry weapons and be used on non-emergency calls. The non-sworn officers are called Public Safety Support Specialists and will be utilized on property crimes and break-ins, according to Wheeler.

Proponents of hiring the Public Safety Support Specialists said they could build more trust with citizens. "When you bring your gun and a badge into a situation, it can make some people uneasy," says Sam Sachs, a former Portland park ranger, according to the Williamette Week. "If you're not wearing a gun, it kind of changes things."

The mayor cut the city’s mounted police from the budget so he could fund the Public Safety Support Specialists, which could be hired in January, according to the Williamette Week (November 29, 2018).
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Unarmed police is not an idea unique to Portland. The United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland, Iceland, New Zealand, and twelve of 16 Pacific island nations do not allow most police officers to carry firearms.

Would this concept work in the United States? Will having unarmed police officers build more trust with the community, or just put these officers at increased risk?
 

Operating in Hostile and Non-Permissive Environments:
A Survival and Resource Guide for Those Who Go in Harm’s Way

 

Military personnel deployed to a combat area, their supporting contractors overseas, government civilian employees overseas, non-government organizations (NGOs), journalists working on international stories, businesses attempting to establish a foothold in developing countries, and individual travelers to remote areas of the world can all find themselves in hostile and non-permissive environments. This guide covers a broad range of subjects that are intended to aid individuals, living and working in dangerous areas, in being safer in their daily lives and in being better able to protect themselves and survive in case of an emergency, disaster, or hostile action.