PORTLAND, Ore. — A team of non-sworn specialists inside the Portland Police Bureau faces some of the deepest cuts to be found in Mayor Keith Wilson’s budget proposal. The police employees respond to reports of low-level property crimes which sworn officers often don’t get to.
KGW’s Blair Best did a ride-along this week with one of the public safety support specialists — or PS3s, as they’re called at the bureau — who said their job is about making Portlanders feel seen, heard and supported.
Michelle Plumb is one of about 40 non-sworn PS3s with Portland police. She gets in a PPB pickup truck and begins her patrol in East Portland, first checking what’s already on the board for the day…