PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – People should expect to see officers patrolling on foot in busy areas Downtown and around Portland as PPB is bringing back “holiday walking beats” for a second year.

According to Chief Bob Day, most beats will include two officers in four-hour shifts throughout Downtown and other parts of the city where people are shopping and participating in holiday events. The goal is to send officers out on the street to keep Portlanders at ease, and also, to build relationships with community members.

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“Transforming the dynamic between the police and the people we serve, reducing crime and the fear of crime, and organizational growth and development,” Day said.

Day said this approach for the officers who are on walking beats is meant to engage with the community in a way that’s not “enforcement oriented,” but rather shows a more personable police presence, and deters would-be criminals in major shopping areas like Pioneer Courthouse Square, Mall 205, and Mississippi Ave., among other locations.

PPB lieutenant Chris Burley said it’s a different dynamic if an officer is on foot as opposed to a squad car.

“To be able to just have the natural interactions with people when we’re walking down sidewalk, smiling, asking people how they’re doing,” Burley said. “It can be a real builder of our relationship with people in the community, visitors to the city, and also people that may be struggling in the community, and we also have an opportunity to talk to them to see if there are resources we can bring to them.”

The holiday walking beats are scheduled from Nov. 29-Dec. 31.

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