PPB hires 14 more officers, 3 more PS3s as total of sworn officers rises

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – The Portland Police Bureau is celebrating 14 new officers and three new Public Safety Support Specialists, appointed in a ceremony Thursday.

PPB said with the appointments, the bureau now has more than 800 total sworn members for the first time in several months, with 101 in training.

The bureau said with the hiring of three new Public Safety Support Specialists(PS3s), the non-sworn and unarmed members in uniform, PPB now has 34 out of 70 approved PS3s.

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“PPB is building back from its lowest number of sworn members, which was 773 in September 2022,” the bureau said Thursday. “This was the lowest number of sworn members since 1989. The lowest number of members at the rank of officer was in May 2022, when there were 509 out of 609 authorized.”

Despite being presented with badges, PPB says it will be roughly 18 months before the 14 officers are fully trained and working in patrol cars.

PPB also hired three new Mental health Crisis Responders with two more expected to be hired in early 2023.