Downtown Portland Clean & Safe: 177,000 Used Needles Collected in 2022

In 2022, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe (DPCS) collected over 177,000 used needles from public spaces, cleaned more than 24,000 biohazards, and completed over 3,000 community member assist calls. 

The DPCS Enhanced Service District (ESD) began as an informal group of downtown property owners and managers in 1988 and was later formalized in city code in 1991. The Portland City Council decided to renew the district every 10 years in 2001.

DPCS provides services to the businesses within a core 213-block area of the downtown area. DPCS is unique among the city’s three ESDs as it is funded solely by over 400 individual “ratepayers” (downtown businesses and property owners) who pay fees based on building type and usage criteria. 

"We view and treat this funding as a donation to the City of Portland to provide 'enhanced' services for janitorial cleaning on the public rights of way, extra professional community safety observation, reporting and response, and a wide variety of retail programming and economic development services," the report reads. 

As a result of recent wildfires, COVID-19, and other crises facing the city, the report notes, ESD ratepayers have seen dramatic increases in both property and person crimes, chronic illegal street camping, and debris blocking public rights-of-way, and a reduction in essential public safety and basic city services.

"ESDs are not and never were designed or funded to take on the tremendous additional burdens of addressing and responding to these many additional strains on our economic viability and livability," wrote Mark Wells, DPCS executive director, and Terrence Paschal, DPCS board chair, in the report's introductory letter. 

DPCS Janitorial Program Statistics for the Contract Year 2021-2022:

• Bags of trash collected: 75,441 
• Graffiti tags removed: 35,647 
• Biohazards removed or cleaned: 24,084 
• Needles collected: 176,962

DPCS Public Safety Program Statistics for Contract Year 2021-2022:

* Call types mirror as closely as possible to PPB call types per City request.

• Aggressive Behavior: 142 
• Assist Community Member: 3,081 
• Disorderly Conduct: 91 
• Mental Health Assistance: 81 
• Sidewalk Obstruction: 342 
• Trespass: 48 
• Unwanted Persons: 5,335 
• Business Outreach: 17,792 
• Medical Emergency Assist: 42

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe- Annual Report 2021-22

Read the full report at Portland.gov.