The Vehicle Inspection Team (VIT), a unit within the Parking Enforcement Division, is responsible for clearing homeless camps that involve lived-in vehicles on city-owned property. The VIT, using information from the community and other city bureaus, identifies homeless camps that are detrimental to health, safety, and overall community livability. Many of the vehicles within the camps leak sewage or engine/transmission fluid, are in poor condition, contain mold, rodent infested, partially dismantled, or have fire damage.

The VIT has progressively increased towing of lived-in vehicles. The increase in towing correlates with the city’s post-pandemic policy to be more assertive in clearing camps and in offering to move campers to other types of shelter, such as tiny homes, RV Safe Rest Villages, or congregate shelter.

Once a camp with vehicles is identified, the VIT places tow warnings on the vehicles within the camp that are in violation of Title 16 of the Portland City Code. From the time of placing the tow warning through the day of the tow (usually 72 hours or more), VIT members work with willing campers to find congregant shelter, a tiny home within a Safe Rest Village, or a parking spot within an RV Safe Rest Village.
 
Once the warning period is up, the VIT returns to the camp and tows the vehicles that fail to heed the warning. In many cases the Impact Reduction Program responds to clear garbage, tents, and structures.

After the vehicles are removed and the garbage picked up, there is a noticeable difference in safety, livability, and cleanliness.

Community members report abandoned autos/lived in vehicles through an online system, by a phone recording, or speaking to a person from Parking Enforcement or 311. 

The reports are entered into the Abandoned Auto database which is an internal facing system that can be accessed by members of the Vehicle Inspections Team (VIT). The database allows the officers to address and monitor the complaints made by the community and to add and manage vehicles they personally observe in violation.

The officers can search the database by vehicle identifiers, location, date ranges, actions taken, case number, and current status.

If a VIT member determines a vehicle within the database is eligible to be towed, they order a tow through the City's contracted tow vendor - Autura- and make a note in the database showing a tow was ordered. 

The data for this measure is extracted from the Autura system which shows the number of tows that were completed. 

The Portland Bureau of Transportation's Report an Abandoned Vehicle webpage provides more information on how Portlanders can inform the City about abandoned and junk vehicles, including occupied vehicles, in the right-of-way.