PORTLAND — Portland police are struggling to fill officer vacancies as recruits fail probation at about double the rate they have in the past.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the bureau hired more officers from mid-2016 to mid-2018, but more of them are flunking out of the state’s basic police academy or failing to make it through Portland’s 18-month probation period, Assistant Chief Chris Davis said.
Twenty to 25 percent of those recruits are no longer working for the bureau, compared to the more typical 10 to 15 percent, according to city figures.
Davis says the failed recruits had problems multi-tasking or making good decisions under stress during field training. He says others decided the job wasn’t working out or were terminated due to misconduct.
Davis reviews all the background investigations of recruits and said it’s hard to predict how somebody will perform in uniform.
