Category Archives: Crime

Streetcar to the Loony Bin

Nobody is flying over the cuckoo’s nest in Portland. Especially the police, who are caught between two special-needs groups. On one side is Portland’s homeless population, many of whom are mentally ill or on drugs. On the other side are the Portlanders who seek to be the envy of the rest of the world (or […]

The Stats on PEW’s Credibility

Nothing exposes crime statistics like an honest rap sheet. Consider the “26 percent” of Oregon prison inmates that the PEW Center on the States has found to be “low risk” and driving up the costs of incarceration. Who exactly are these 26 percent? Considering that Oregon doesn’t incarcerate most felons, what crimes are these “low-risk” […]

This Will Never Stop

The 17-year-old girl was in labor when she arrived at the emergency room, strapped into a wheelchair because her physical and mental disabilities made it difficult for her to sit upright. She could not speak. Hospital staff remembered her from two years earlier – when she had given birth the first time. “This is the […]

Carpooling to the Gun Range

Ceasefire Oregon’s gun turn-in outside Memorial Coliseum provided photo ops to Portland television stations, but the real gun news was at a Holiday Inn on Northwest Vaughn Street. The Liberal Gun Club, which has about 700 members nationwide, concluded its third annual meeting in Portland. The club’s weekend gathering happened to coincide with the four-hour, […]

Sacrificing the Small Fry

Neither murderer Gary Haugen nor Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber understand the nature of sacrifice. In Kitzhaber’s case it’s surprising. He used to be an emergency room doctor. Certainly he realizes that some people are worth trying to save, and some are not. His efforts on behalf of Haugen not only cost the state of Oregon […]

Having Fun In Prison

Twenty years from now, how many pen pals will Aurora, Colo., killer James Holmes have? Andrew Metz has several, and he murdered only two people. He told the Oregon State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision earlier this month he looks forward to a future that he hopes will include starting a family. (Interested? Check […]

Spinning the Numbers on Public Safety

When did think tanks start doing our thinking for us? Here in Oregon, Gov. John Kitzhaber and his legislative leaders have hired the Pew Center on the States to tell them what to do about public safety. The Pew Center on the States has been getting a lot of favorable publicity since it began its […]

The Next Rodney King

Somewhere there’s a young, black American male looking to hit it big on the Blue Lotto. A young, black man who has dropped out of school, has used drugs, spent some time in jail and has weighed the career options that seem available to him – hip-hop star, football or basketball star, drug dealer – […]

UPSET? Try Getting MADD

The Portland Public School District is like a dysfunctional family that has decided the answer to its problems is to remodel the living room. And Oregon’s Commission on Public Safety is like an investor who is contemplating moving money out of the one account that is paying dividends. These two entities are engaged in the […]

When Justice Isn’t in the Cards

What a mockery justice becomes when guilt and innocence mean nothing. Consider the case of Brian Banks, who served five years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit — but pleaded no contest to. He was cleared of all charges last week. His record is now clean. Banks, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound football star at […]