Portland police hope new recruiting videos will boost ranks

Portland police say they are seeing results after spending $300,000 on new recruiting videos and a website that promote the department as a unique team.

The department used federal funding to hire an outside company, Epic, that specializes in digital recruiting strategies for police departments throughout the country. Its website boasts that its services can bring in over 600% more applications.

The result is a series of highly produced videos, all a minute or less. Some focus on Portland’s scenery while others showed officers in different divisions, like dispatch, SWAT and dive teams, carrying out simulated scenarios of their work. One video, called “Work-Life Balance” promotes officers’ hobbies, like ice fishing, skiing and paddle boarding. Another, called “Final Fight” shows officers wrestling with one another in a training exercise.

Since Epic deployed the new recruiting website, and set up advertisements on Google and social media using the promotional videos, department leaders say they’re noticing more buzz, and an …