Police Equipment

1. Equipping Police With Tranquilizers - Tranquilizers can be used at short range to jab a suspect who’s struggling or possibly long range with a dart gun. Often times police have to wrestle suspects and resort to tasing and strangulation. Sometimes suspects are able to resist and flee, and sometimes police end up killing them. With tranquilizers a police officer can quickly reach too their waste, grab a tranquilizer and jab a struggling suspect, leaving them quickly sedated with limited struggle.

2. Installing Video Cameras - Various types of video cameras can be used to help increase the efficiency of policing and deter crime. Surveillance cameras, ideally with facial recognition, could be installed at every intersection in the city.  This will help police identify suspects arriving and fleeing the scene of the crime more efficiently, as well as help decrease profiling as police will be able to better identify the correct suspect. There are currently around 25,500 intersections in Portland, at $5,000 a camera this would cost $128 million total. Red light Cameras could be put on every red light in Portland. There are currently around 1,100 traffic lights in Portland, at $100,000 a camera this would cost $110 Million. Speed cameras can be placed on busy streets, and freeways as well. If 5,000 cameras were placed on busy streets and freeways at $10,000 a camera this would cost around $50 million. Red light and speed cameras will allow all traffic crime to be dealt with automatedly as well as indiscriminately, saving the city money and eliminating potentially discriminatory policing. Requiring private businesses and residents to notify the city if they have video cameras on their property, can help make it more efficient for police to investigate as well.

3. Collecting Fingerprint and DNA samples - This can be done at schools, doctor appointments, homeless shelters, airports etc. If police have DNA and fingerprint samples of every resident on file, it will be much easier to identify suspects and solve crimes.

4. Prison and Jail Reform - New jails and prisons will be designed so they operate more efficiently, and more effectively reform criminals. Current jails and prisons often have shared cells, and when cells are single don’t have the amenities for the inmate to be self-sufficient, i.e. bathrooms, showers, and basic kitchen facilities. Because of these designs, inmates have to spend unnecessary time together in groups (when eating, when showering) which leads to increased need for security and an increase in operation costs. According to national data1  security guards make up over half of the personnel in federal prisons, this could be greatly reduced if inmates were kept separate for a larger percent of the time. The more that inmates are kept separate, the less that security is needed. Kitchen staff can also essentially be eliminated if inmates can cook for themselves. When there is group time in prison, it can be organized so only a small percent of the inmates are out of their cells at the same time keeping the need for security down. 

These more secluded environments will also increase the ability to reform inmates and stop prison crime. In current prison environments where inmates are constantly spending time together, inmates are able to commit crimes, have crimes committed against them, and learn criminal behaviors from other inmates. All these situations decrease the chance that an inmate is going to be reformed. Keeping inmates separated the majority of the time will allow them to focus on building new habits, getting educated and gaining job skills. 

These reforms should also help increase cooperation throughout the judicial process as victims, witnesses, juries, police, judges etc. will all be less resistant to arresting and convicting someone knowing the person will be taken to a place where they are safe and treated justly. Suspects may be less resistant to arrest as well. Section 5: The new jails and prisons will be designed so every inmate has a private cell that will include amenities such as a toilet, shower, sink, fridge, microwave, bed, fold-out desk, chair, shelves, stove, mini washing machine, sealed room without bars, potentially widows, etc. Gyms, and classrooms should also be part of the designs of the new prisons and jails, so group time can be spent productively. Video cameras should also be added throughout the prisons and jails. 

Estimated Savings: The current Oregon budget for correctional facilities is around $1 billion a year.2  This budget is strictly for state prisons, local jails are not included. When including local jails, the budget is assumingly larger. Local jails hold 25% of the inmates in Oregon.3 Based on the jail population the total budget may be up to $1.5 billion. With the new prison designs, reduction in security guards will possibly be by 50% if not up to 75%. Kitchen staff will also essentially be eliminated as inmates will cook for themselves. Janitorial staff will be decreased, as inmates can clean their own bathrooms and clothes. Reductions in management and trainers could also be made as there will be less staff to manage and train. More details on the current budget could help to find further efficiencies and make better projections. Including state prisons and local jails, estimated savings are between $250-500 million a year. Inflation and population change may affect these savings overtime. 

Estimated Costs: Currently in Oregon there are around 20,000 people incarcerated.4  Based on the current costs of building a prison,5 it would cost around $3 billion to build new prisons and jails to house all the current inmates. Inflation and population change may affect these costs overtime. Means of Payment: State bonds will be sold to fund the construction of the prisons and jails, unless other means are found. 

5. Installing Gates at Intersections - High speed chases cause around 300-600 deaths a year.6 Installing gates at all intersections on busy streets could be an easy solution to safely capture fleeing suspects in high speed chases. The costs of this isn't estimated at this time, but I will work on creating a plan of installation, it will probably be a long term plan. The gates will essentially be like gates entering parking lots. 

6. Bolawraps - BolaWraps are a new restraint device that can fire a cord that wraps around a subject. I would like to improve upon this design and work to make the devices multi-rounded and semi-automatic, making them more effective and realistic for police use. 

References

1 Department of Justice. Federal Prison System (BOP). Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/doj/page/file/1246666/download

2 Oregon Legislature. Department of Corrections. Retrieved from https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/232797#:~:text =The%20DOC's%20agency%20request%20budget,years%20not%20taken%20their%20toll.

3 KTVZ. Incarceration rates demographics in Oregon. Retrieved from https://ktvz.com/stackeroregon/2022/03/10/incarceration-rates-demographics-in-oregon/

4 KTVZ. Incarceration rates demographics in Oregon. Retrieved from https://ktvz.com/stackeroregon/2022/03/10/incarceration-rates-demographics-in-oregon/

5 D.C. Policy Center. How Much Would it Cost to Build and Maintain a New D.C. Prison? Retrieved from https://www.dcpolicycenter.org/publications/cost-new-dc-prison/#:~:text=per%20bed%20costs.- ,Operating%20costs,million%20depending%20on%20the%20capacity

6a  Number of deaths related to vehicle pursuits by law enforcement agencies in the United States between 1996 and 2015, by state. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/727008/vehicle-pursuit-related-deaths-by-state/

6a   F P Rivara, C D Mack. Motor vehicle crash deaths related to police pursuits in the United States. Retrieved from https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/10/2/93