Q Patrol: History and Formation

Following a recent spate of gay-bashings in downtown Portland, a group of concerned citizens convened a series of community forums at Q Center to address the problem of bias-motivated assault crimes in the city. The forums attracted the participation of not only the crime victims, but also Portland’s Mayor, Chief of Police, the District Attorney’s office, the state Attorney General, and the state and federal Departments of Justice. Conversations revealed that while reported incidents of bias crimes have declined over the course of the past year, officials acknowledged that crimes often go unreported because assault victims, traumatized from their experiences, are fearful of being “re-victimized” by unsympathetic or seemingly homophobic police and civil authorities. In fact, according to recent Portland Police Bureau statistics, people who are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) are more than three times as likely to be victims of bias crimes as people who are attacked for their perceived race or religion.

Q Patrol PDX emerged from this community conversation. It is a community response to the impulse to DO something to ensure the safety of Portland’s LGBTQ citizens.

Police authorities acknowledge that citizen foot patrols have a “calming effect” on city streets. Would-be criminals are known to target victims whom they perceive to be isolated and vulnerable. Foot patrols offer the opposite of isolation and vulnerability to entertainment venue patrons. Foot patrols are publicly visible; they are comprised of groups of people (five or more); they have established friendly connections to businesses and bar owners, as well as civil authorities. Would-be criminals are dissuaded from attacking when they are aware that citizen foot patrols are present and are, by their presence, reducing the isolation of potential assault victims.

• Progress to date with establishing Q Patrol PDX is as follows:
• A dedicated volunteer, Joe LeBlanc, has stepped forward to coordinate Q Patrol PDX;
• Collaborative relationships have been established with organizations offering technical support for Q Patrol PDX, including the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI), Women’s Strength, One With Heart, We Make the Path, Bradley Angle, as well as the Sexual Assault Task Force in Salem;
• With the help of ONI, Joe has adopted San Francisco’s Castro Community on Patrol (a citizen foot patrol) manual and is revising it for use in Portland;
• One “soft launch” training session on July 12;
• Four successive foot patrols in July and August;
• A De-Escalation training with We Make the Path scheduled for August 9;
• A “hard launch” Q Patrol PDX training session scheduled for August 10;
• Official launch of Q Patrol PDX on August 13 and 14: patrols to continue forward on Fridays and Saturday from 11pm to 2am weekly!
• In addition to the Q Patrol trainings held at the center all through September, there are 2 upcoming Q Patrol trainings on September 19th and 27th!
• A reduction of the likelihood of assault on LGBTQ people on Portland’s city streets;
• Enhanced confidence of LGBTQ persons by reducing their isolation and vulnerability, thus preventing crime before it happens;
• Increased neighborhood safety to attract patrons and thus enhance the viability of entertainment districts;
• Increased amounts of LGBTQ community engagement and volunteerism
  

While Q Patrol PDX is conceived as but one effort in a larger initiative to promote well-being in the LGBTQ communities, it is an important, visible, and concrete action to promote community safety. Organizers envision several possible positive outcomes.

Q Patrol PDX will be patrolling each Friday and Saturday night thru October 30th.  We are available for trainings, even one on one for individuals who are interested in joining the patrols.  Please contact us at qpatrolpdx@gmail.com to set up trainings or with any questions.