From [HERE] Police in Portland, Oregon, are cutting back on pursuing minor traffic offenses in an effort to make “safety safer and more equitable,” according to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a move that also is the result of the police bureau’s limited staffing and resources.

On Tuesday June 22, Wheeler, who is also the city’s police commissioner, announced that low-level traffic violations, such as expired tags, are now at the bottom of the list of infractions for the police department of Oregon’s largest city. He noted that officers still reserved the right to act if the minor offense presents immediate danger, like if a driver is on the road with broken headlights at night.

The new orders also include requiring recorded consent of a driver before performing any searches and a clear indication of their right to refuse said search.

Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell has instructed his officers to not pull citizens over for “less serious, non-moving violations” and instead focus on those who are making the road unsafe for others, including anyone driving under the influence and reckless drivers.

The mayor stated that the changes are the city’s response to their findings of disproportionate statistics, which showed Black drivers accounted for 18 percent of traffic stops in the city, while Black people only make up six percent of the city’s population. In 2019, Portland’s Black citizens made up nearly 23 percent of stops for non-moving violations compared to 62 percent of white people.

“I don’t want to over promise the results on the disparities because I’m not sure what those will be,” said Lovell. “What I think what’s important here is that we’re willing to try this. We’re willing to ask officers to do it and look at the data and see if it’s having an impact on safety, if it’s having an impact on disparities and then making appropriate judgements from there.”