Portland Police prowl the streets...

Recent extension of the South Park Blocks nine o'clock curfew to other parks downtown (North Park Blocks, O'Bryant Square, Ira Keller Fountain Park and an unnamed park at Southwest 14th Avenue and Hall Street) has made some waves. People are skeptical as to whether this is really helping or not, and as well they should be. I have personally seen how easily "street kids" can avoid the police. They know what times their shifts change, when and where they'll be at all times, and are certain to avoid them, no matter where they are. So the fact that the police are prowling South Park Blocks and keeping them safe doesn't mean the city is safer, it means the trouble has gone elsewhere.

“It’s a solution to fix something that's not a problem," says Richard Harris of nonprofit Central City Concern. Though safety complaints have trickled down to almost nothing, as John Doussard reports, this is the season in which “street kids” are less active anyways. No one will really no for sure until things start warming up again.
It's also noted that there's really no mentioning in the law of this "aggressive panhandling" the police speak of, and I personally have never witnessed it.

-Cartoon by Chad Crowe, let's not give someone else credit for the miss-spelled word...