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Performance MeasureMeasure #100717854Value #104640303

POLICE USE OF FORCE

Percentage of times Portland Police Bureau uses force in taking people into custody

A complete source packet for this Performance Portland measure: current value, official scale, history, narrative notes, context, and links.

1

Start with value

Use the latest official value and current trend as the first read.

2

Check why it matters

This percentage reflects how often Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers are using force, or physical coercion, when taking people into custody.

3

Use the source packet

Continue to the chart, official notes, topic links, source URLs, and full history table.

History

Official values

This chart uses the official actual values cached from ClearImpact. The latest point is highlighted; the table below preserves every raw row.

Export source packet

Latest

3.0%

Q4 2025

First shown

5.3%

Q3 2022

Change shown

-2.3%

Within visible history

0%25%50%75%100%20225.3%20222023202320232023202420242024202420252025202520253.0%X-axis: reporting period. Y-axis: official actual value on the ClearImpact scale.

Full source history

Every cached ClearImpact row for this measure.

PeriodActualTargetTrend
Q4 20253.0%—0
Q3 20253.0%—-1
Q2 20253.1%—0
Q1 20253.1%—1
Q4 20243.0%—-1
Q3 20245.0%—-1
Q2 202410.8%—1
Q1 20245.2%—-1
Q4 20235.3%—1
Q3 20234.8%—-1
Q2 20235.1%—-1
Q1 20235.3%—1
Q4 20224.9%—-1
Q3 20225.3%—1
Q2 20225.2%—-1
Q1 20225.6%—1
Q4 20215.4%—-1
Q3 20216.5%—-1
Q2 20217.0%—1
Q1 20216.2%—1
Q4 20206.1%—1
Q3 20204.7%—1
Q2 20204.1%—1
Q1 20203.5%—0
Q4 20193.5%—1
Q3 20193.3%—-1
Q2 20193.5%—1
Q1 20193.3%—0
Q4 20183.3%—1
Q3 20183.0%—-1
Q2 20184.3%—-1
Q1 20184.6%—1
Q4 20174.5%—1
Q3 20173.5%—0

Narrative Tabs

Official Performance Portland notes

Why Is This Important?

This percentage reflects how often Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers are using force, or physical coercion, when taking people into custody. Following Graham v. Connor, a 1989 Supreme Court case, PPB's rules and regulations state that "members shall only use force necessary to accomplish a lawful objective, and the force must be objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances." While the nature of policing will likely always involve some cases where force is required, we want those to be a small minority of total cases.

PPB's rules and regulations

What Do The Numbers Show?

Over the period 2017-current the rate of use of force has varied from as low as 3% to as high as 10.8%. It can be hard to identify specific drivers for this variance.

How Did We Arrive at These Numbers?

Police officers fill out a Force Data Collection Report (FDCR) every time they use force of a reportable type. The major exclusion to reporting since September 11, 2024 is 'de minimis force' (Latin for insignificant force). De minimis force is typically minimally intrusive application of a restraint like handcuffs, or the use of an empty hand coercive technique to separate, guide, and/or gain control of a subject. De minimis force is not readily capable of causing or reasonably likely to cause physical injury or persistent pain. This captures the number of people against whom force was used. If a person had force used against them more than once each quarter they will be counted more than once. 'Custodies' are arrests (bookings, citations, or warrants), transports to detox, hospitals, or mental health facilities, and protective custodies.

Where Can I Find More Information?

Portland Police Bureau's Use of Force dashboard contains more detail.

Use of Force dashboard