Portland Police hires 20 new police officers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - The Portland Police Bureau swore in 20 new community police officers Thursday.

The bureau is now up to 793 sworn members, 537 of them being officers. PPB expects to be hiring more than it is losing going forward.

“This is truly a great day for the Portland Police Bureau,” said Chief Chuck Lovell. “It’s a challenging time right now to work in law enforcement and I’m gratified to see so many people stepping forward to take on that challenge. I’m excited to welcome them into the PPB family.” “Numbers like this, particularly in the field of law enforcement, have been hard to come by recently,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is Police Commissioner. “I truly believe that this group, and the growing numbers of people who want to serve the community as police officers, heralds a new and hopeful chapter in our city’s future.”

Although these officers received their badges Thursday, it will take some time before they are fully trained. The training process for a new hire is about 18 months. PPB said it currently has 87 officers in the training process.

The bureau also hired three new Public Safety Support Specialists.