- For reference: Multnomah County includes the City of Portland, Oregon
- This week, KGW investigative reporter Kyle Iboshi took a look at criminal cases of misdemeanor theft in the Portland metro area as part of an ongoing series on shoplifting. His latest report examined the rate at which county district attorneys prosecute misdemeanor theft cases, and found that Washington County prosecuted 93% of cases brought by police and Clackamas County prosecuted 84%. In Multnomah County, it was only 46%.
- Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth suggested that the difference in prosecution rates between local counties could have to do with how a DA’s office ranks crimes, perhaps not always deeming them serious enough to be worth prosecuting. “Well, I can’t speak for what’s wrong in Multnomah County, and clearly something is wrong there,” (Washington County District Attorney Kevin) Barton said. “What I can say is we all apply the same laws: The same criminal laws apply everywhere in Oregon, the same rules of evidence in court apply everywhere in Oregon, and what you have sometimes is a difference in philosophy with the leaders in various communities. “I can only speak for my community and I can say that the police chiefs, the sheriff, in my office itself, we all prioritize accountability. We also prioritize making sure that we enforce what I call ‘quality of life’ crimes. If you are a business owner and you’re a victim of shoplifting, that’s a significant issue that you’re dealing with. If you are a regular person on the street and your catalytic converter has been stolen or your car has been broken into, that’s a significant issue to you.
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Article source:
KGW
