PORTLAND, Ore. — Multnomah County has released a 57-page document detailing operations at its Deflection Center in southeast Portland and eventual plans for a sobering center.
The plan includes a description of the duties of the hired security forces, what they would do if backup is needed, and the perimeter they will patrol.
The district promises to continuously assess the additional security needs after the diversion center opens.
The draft plan allocates $740,000 for security during the center’s first 10 months of operation, which will fund two on-site security officers 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a new contract with Intercon.
“If security forces determine that more assistance is needed to resolve the security issue, they will request additional resources,” said Ryan Yambra, a county spokesman, noting that there is an existing $40 million contract with Intercon to provide security at several county buildings and operate the county’s Security Operations Center (SOC).
The main task of the security personnel, according to the plan, is to “ensure a stable, orderly and safe environment for customers and staff at the diversion center.” They will also monitor CCTV video surveillance in coordination with the county SOC and report incidents on a daily basis.
On-site security officers will also patrol the perimeter (from 9th to 11th Avenues and from Pine Street to Oak Street) of the building, acting as additional “eyes and ears” in the neighborhood. They may ask people camping or loitering within the established perimeter to leave the building. They will not interrupt criminal activity they observe, except in cases of vandalism or property damage, but may request backup or police assistance.
David Watnick, an attorney for Escuela Viva, a preschool less than 500 feet from the center, says the safety protocols outlined in the document are unsatisfactory. He has written a letter to the county threatening legal action if the county goes ahead with plans to open the center on Sept. 1.
The Escuela Viva is located just outside the area outlined in the plan.
“This perimeter, whatever it means, is drawn so that it ends directly across from where we are (at the school),” Watnick said. “So the county is basically giving people the green light to be here in front of the Esquiliviva site if they are engaging in unlawful activity. The county says its indefinite security presence would not intervene.”
If individuals from the surrounding neighborhood contact the Center with safety concerns, the Center will contact SOC, who can either dispatch a responder or contact law enforcement.
The district plans to eventually transfer the security and protection measures to the center’s contract operator.
The draft plan promises further details “after the transition plan is finalized.”
These new details come after Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran called for a delay in the center’s opening because of the lack of a “comprehensive safety plan” and after a nearby preschool threatened to sue over safety concerns in the neighborhood.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners will review the plans on Aug. 20 and ask any questions it may have. Yambra said County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson will likely allow a vote the following Thursday on a resolution proposed by Commissioner Sharon Meieran to delay the center’s opening.
