Complaints about Portland police rise in 2003

• The department says the 48 percent jump does not necessarily reflect growing public dissatisfaction

Complaints about Portland police rose 48 percent in 2003, with rude behavior, false charges and harassment topping the list of the most common allegations against officers, according to an oversight group's report to be released today. But the Internal Police Review Division's second annual report cautioned that the jump in citizen complaints doesn't necessarily reflect growing dissatisfaction with the Police Bureau. Director Richard Rosenthal said the increase probably is the result of more people knowing about in the 21/2-year-old division, which serves as an intake center for complaints against police. Another theory is that the public's attitudes toward police have returned to where they were before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "That's a trend in other cities," Rosenthal said. "Complaints have returned to the prior levels." The division's 164-page report shows 761 complaints, compared with 513 in 2002. [more ]