PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Police Chief Bob Day is pushing back on a recently-announced delay that moved the opening of a new Portland sobering center out to 2026. In a July 29 letter to Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson shared with KGW, Day wrote that he and other local law enforcement leaders "can no longer accept the consequences of further delay" and urged the county to "prioritize immediate implementation" of the sobering center plan.
The sobering center is envisioned as a place where law enforcement can bring people who have been detained while publicly intoxicated, offering a more suitable environment to sober up than a jail cell.
Portland's previous sobering station shut down in 2019. Operator Central City Concern said there had been a rise in the number of people dropped off for hard drug intoxication rather than alcohol, which created safety concerns and left the facility unequipped to properly treat them.
"The absence of a 24/7 first responder drop-off center is a critical public safety crisis, resulting in a staggering burden on law enforcement and millions of lost taxpayer's dollars," Day wrote in his letter, adding that he hears officers regularly say "we just need someplace to take people."
Multnomah County has been working on plans for a new and expanded sobering center for years, largely without success. In April, a group led by Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards released a new plan for the development and scope of a new facility. At the time, the county said it was still looking for a location.
In June, the county announced that it had secured a location for a new "drop-off center" associated with the county's drug deflection program established under House Bill 4002. The facility is set to open Sept. 1, the same day that HB 4002 kicks in and recriminalizes simple possession of hard drugs. People arrested for drug use will be given the option to "deflect" into treatment programs in lieu of jail, and if they accept, they'll be brought to the deflection center to begin that process.
The deflection center is not the same thing as a sobering center, but the county's initial announcement indicated that the facility could eventually serve both functions, with the sobering center piece set to be added in 2025. But in a subsequent announcement earlier this month, it became clear that the opening had slipped to 2026.
The new plan would add 10 sobering beds at the deflection center in the spring of 2025, but the full sobering center with 35 to 50 beds wouldn't open until the fall of 2026. That delay appears to be the main focus of Day's letter.
"The greatest need is for a safe and secure location where police can transport people who are displaying signs of intoxication and are unable to care for themselves or are a danger to themselves or others," he wrote.
Day also urged the county to consider opening two sobering center facilities or, if there can only be one, to make sure it's located in east Multnomah County. Downtown Portland and the Central Eastside already have service organizations with other facilities where officers can take people, he said, but the east county area out toward Gresham is lacking.
"... our East County law enforcement spend an inordinate amount of time driving to downtown Portland," he wrote.
Asked for comment on Day's letter, Vega Pederson responded with the following statement:
The Board will be briefed on August 15 with the latest details of the Sobering Center plan. The Chair looks forward to further conversations with Chief Day and law enforcement partners as the County looks to bring sobering resources, including a 24/7 drop-off facility, online.
In a subsequent email reply to Day, shared with KGW, Vega Pederson thanked him for gathering feedback from other law enforcement leaders and for the suggestion of an east county facility. She said she would follow up with a more detailed letter.