The data paints a painfully clear and unsettling picture.
Our community continues to struggle to make amends for our racist past. Black children in Multnomah County experience higher rates of poverty, are twice as likely to be in single-parent households, and are more likely to suffer from poor health outcomes than others.
There is almost no area in which continued disparities are as concerning as in our justice system.
African Americans experience high levels of disparity throughout the criminal justice process, even though they make up roughly 6 percent of adults in the county.
Multnomah County, along with other jurisdictions, has made gains in easing some disparities. But the criminal justice system here, and across the country, remains inequitable. And no jurisdiction, including the county, has been able to produce comprehensive, permanent fixes.
As the new co-chairs of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC), which coordinates countywide public safety policy, we are deeply committed to reducing disparities. LPSCC includes all stakeholders in the local public safety system. We are striving to build holistic, data-driven, and equitable responses for victims and offenders alike.
Ever since the MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge in December 2015 confirmed that black people are over-represented in every part of Multnomah County’s public safety system, critical partners -- from judges and district attorneys, to public defenders, law enforcement officers and many more -- have been consistently at the table working to decrease disparities.
We will continue to rely on data and science to be transparent about the challenges around disparity and to measure how well our adjustments are working. We will hold ourselves accountable and change direction when the data and science show we must.
We have identified and launched pilot programs we hope will decrease disparities. We have changed some practices based on the science of human behavior, such as reducing the length of jail sanctions for people on parole and probation, when appropriate.
We are working upstream with youth through our Community Healing Initiative programs. Our partner organizations, Latino Network and POIC, Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center intervene with at-risk and gang-involved youths and provide comprehensive services to their families that include housing, education, employment, mental health and mentoring.
In addition, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office (MCDA) used data to identify and address the largest disparities in the parts of the system it oversees. MCDA changed its policy on pursuing criminal charges for TriMet riders accused of not paying fares. It also reduced the rate at which youth are prosecuted as adults for Measure 11 crimes.
We are hopeful these policy changes and new programs will make a meaningful difference, and have a positive impact on communities of color.
Of course, we’re also realistic. We still have a lot of work to do.
But we are committed to doing whatever it takes for as long as it takes to create a justice system that’s fair for everyone - regardless of race.
It’s the right thing do.
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury
LPSCC Co-Chair
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
LPSCC Co-Chair