Learning from the Crowd: How Dialogue Policing is Changing Public Order Management in Portland
When large gatherings happen in Portland—whether they're celebrations, protests, or community demonstrations—the Portland Police Bureau's goal is simple but vital: keep people safe while protecting everyone's rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.
A recent episode of Talking Beat dives deep into this balance with Assistant Chief Craig Dobson and Professor Clifford Stott, a social psychologist from Keele University in the United Kingdom. Together, they explore how crowd science and dialogue-based policing are helping shape a safer, more democratic approach to managing public order events.
The Science Behind Crowd Behavior
Professor Stott's research began in the wake of tragedy—the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster in the UK, where 97 soccer fans lost their lives due to poor crowd management. That event sparked decades of study into how police and crowds interact, and how those interactions can either escalate or defuse tension.
"What we began to find," said Professor Stott, "is that the transition from a peaceful protest into violent confrontation is often precipitated by overly aggressive, disproportionate policing. When people feel that policing is illegitimate, that's when confrontation emerges."
The key, he argues, is legitimacy. If people believe the police are acting fairly, proportionately, and with respect for their rights, the chances of violence drop dramatically.
From Europe to Portland: Dialogue in Action
Portland's partnership with Professor Stott grew from a shared desire to learn from international successes. In Europe, dialogue policing models have transformed how officers manage large events—from soccer matches to political demonstrations—by focusing on communication and facilitation rather than control.
Assistant Chief Dobson explained how this approach took root locally:
"Our Dialogue Liaison Officer program began in 2016, but after 2020 we wanted to fully embrace the science. With the help of a federal grant and Professor Stott's guidance, we've built a more holistic approach to crowd management—one grounded in communication, understanding, and trust."
These Dialogue Liaison Officers (DLOs)—often seen in white shirts at demonstrations—are trained to communicate directly with organizers and participants. Their mission isn't enforcement, but connection. By maintaining open dialogue, they help identify potential tension points early and keep events safe and peaceful.
Building Legitimacy and Preventing Violence
The model doesn't mean ignoring criminal behavior—it means being precise and proportional. Instead of treating an entire crowd as a threat, the approach allows officers to identify and remove individuals causing harm without escalating the situation.
"As in a stadium," said Dobson, "you don't clear out the whole section because of one unruly fan. You focus on the individual problem, not everyone around them."
Professor Stott added that this kind of differentiation—knowing who in the crowd is peaceful and who may be acting unlawfully—is essential to maintaining legitimacy and trust.
Portland's Experience: A Peaceful Shift
Professor Stott believes Portland is showing promising results.
"What we're seeing here," he said, "is the emergence of a protest community deeply wedded to nonviolence. Instead of confrontation, there's symbolism—like the inflatable frog that's become a global icon of peaceful resistance. That's not just a coincidence; it's a sign that this policing model is working."
He credits the Bureau's openness to science and collaboration for helping shape a climate where peaceful protest is the norm rather than the exception.
The Human Element
Social media, live streaming, and real-time communication have changed how protests unfold. But Stott emphasized that at the core, the human element hasn't changed.
"Underneath all of this, we're all human beings," he said. "When we build trust and maintain legitimacy, people naturally self-regulate. And that's what we're seeing in Portland—people helping to de-escalate tensions and maintain peaceful demonstrations themselves."
This concept of "self-regulation," rooted in the historic Peelian principles of policing through consent, is what the Portland Police Bureau strives to nurture.
Looking Ahead
As Portland continues to navigate complex times, the Bureau's approach to crowd management remains grounded in one principle: policing through legitimacy.
"Fundamental to the democratic project is civic policing," said Stott. "We need to do absolutely everything we can to protect that model—it's essential to what it means to be a democracy."
The Bureau's continued collaboration with Professor Stott reflects a shared commitment to learning, evolving, and ensuring that Portland remains a place where public safety and public voice can coexist peacefully.