Computerized law information
Bill drafted to shorten ‘lone arm of the comnuter’
oirens snneit, lights nash and a
criminal suspect is pulled over to
the side of the street. The ap
prehending police officer glances
at the license number of the car
and within seconds knows if the
owner has a local, state or
national criminal record.
if the scene was Lane County,
the officer would have checked
the license number with the Area
Information Record System
(AIRS)—a computerized
criminal information system.
Such systems are now
operating in most com ties in the
country, and tie-ins to state and
national computer systems are
being developed.
In some parts of the country,
however, information
r
programmed on such systems is
also available to prospective
employers, professors, in
vestigators or any interested
person because guidelines
regarding who has access to the
computerized information—and
when—have been only
sporadically established.
Two University second year
law students are currently
preparing to wage a battle in the
state legislature for establishing
controls on the dissemination of
the programmed information.
Lois Portnoy and Maureen
Fitts have drafted a bill that will
be introduced this week by House
Minority Leader Gordon Mac
Pherson (R-Waldport) which
calls for the establishment of “a
state agency to make rules to
govern the operation of com
puterized criminal justice in
formation systems in Oregon.”
And some of the rules are
written into the proposed bill.
One such rule would allow an
individual to inspect his or her
computerized files and remove
any record of an arrest which had
been on file for two years but was
not followed by a prosecution.
The computerized systems,
which were federally initiated
and labelled “top priority” under
the Omnibus Crime Bill of 1968
are now regulated by individual
law enforcement agencies.
Though the agencies currently
“are being very strict in Oregon
about who can have access to the
information,” Portnoy and Fitts
said they want to insure some
individual rights for criminals
“by making the systems
politically accountable to the
legislature.”
“But the most important thing
about the bill, even if it doesn’t
pass, is to make the public aware
these systems exist,” Portnoy
said.
The students said that while a
“definite value” exists in the
system, “a terrible danger of
misuse of the information also
exists.
“We are not trying to abolish
the systems,” they said. “We just
want to make sure people with
Zane Smith
Wildnemess areas added
to preservation study list
Four study areas in the Willamette
National Forest have been added to a list for
possible inclusion in the National Wilderness
Preservation System.
This announcement came Thursday from
Zane Smith Jr., Supervisor of the Willamette
National Forest, in a morning press con
ference. The areas under study by the U.S.
Forest Service total 10,880 acres and include
the following areas:
— A 4,700-acre addition in the Three Sisters
area near French Pete Creek Valley. Known
as the Mosquito Creek area, this portion is on
the western edge of the present Three Sisters
Wilderness area.
— An area at the northern boundary of the
Mr. Washington Wilderness area totalling
some 530 acres.
— Two areas bordering the Mt. Jefferson
Wilderness area including 3,650 acres in the
Minto Mountain area. The other section for
possible inclusion covers 2,000 acres in the
North Breitnebush area.
Smith said the areas selected by the Forest
Service in Washington were the same areas
recommended by him and the Pacific North
west Regional Forester.
He said that during the study period, which
is expected to occur during a 10-year period,
the lands would be managed as wilderness
areas. “This means that such activities as
logging, road construction and other ac
tivities not consistent with wilderness
guidelines will not be carried out in these
proposed study areas,” Smith said.
Smith also said that roadless areas in the
Willamette National Forest not selected for
study will be managed in the same manner so
as “not to impair later classification as
wilderness area.”
The areas announced by Smith Thursday
are part of 235 areas totalling 11 million acres
nationwide which will be included for study.
Smith said that during the next 90 days the
public can provide input on the study
proposals. He said the comments should be
directed to the Chief of the Forest Service,
Washington, D.C.
computerized files have rights
too.”
The bill calls for the creation of
a five-member agency which
would supervise all systems in
Oregon and establish guidelines
concerning which agencies and
individuals would have access to
the computerized information.
The members, which would be
appointed by the governor and
confirmed by the legislature,
would include one member from
a law enforcement agency, one
member from a public or private
computerized data processing
agency and three members from
the public-at-large. They would
be appointed for four-year terms
and required to submit an annual
report to the governor containing
a description of the files
currently in operation, the
number and nature of requests
for information and a list of
violations of the regulations
established by the agency.
rortnoy and ruts pointed out
that the legislation is timely since
“the whole network is still being
developed.” And they said that
“there is a move in the country”
to establish such agencies in all
states and on a national level.
Portnoy said she became in
volved with the issue first when
she was doing some research on
the Omnibus Crime bill of 1968
“as part of some general
SChoolwork.” After investigating
the computerized systems
created by the act “we decided to
draft the bill,” she said.
The women said they talked to
MacPherson first about the
legislation “because he was
chairman of the House judiciary
committee last session” and they
said he has been “very receptive
to the bill.”
After its introduction, the
students said they plan to spend
“a lot of time” in Salem lobbying
individual legislators and
testifying in committee hearings.
Money problems hit Whitebird
Is White Bird dying? Officials
say that on January 23, the socio
medical clinic must repay a
$9,000 note obtained for a down
payment on its buildings. So far,
$2,100 has been raised.
Faced by this grim situation,
clinic officials called a press
conference Thursday morning to
discuss the alternatives that face
the clinic if the $8,000 is not
raised, and plans for future
financial assistance.
Speaking for the clinic, David
Larry, chairer of the fiscal
committee, expressed hope that
the community will “help us keep
our doors open”. If community
support falls short, he assured
reporters that the clinic’s ad
ministrators will still make
“every effort to keep it open.” If
necessary, attempts to
renegotiate the loan will be
made.
If White Bird survives its
current financial crisis its future
might be somewhat brighter.
Although the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) recently
rejected its application for a $1.9
million grant, an official of the
clinic said they were “urged by
NIMH to reapply’’ since it was
mostly due to a technicality that
the grant was denied. The grant
would provide aid for six years.
Larry stated the clinic has
already reapplied for a $96,000
Office of Education grant that
expires in June. They will also
ask the state for $45,000, the
county for $32,000, and the city for
$26,000 in aid. He stressed,
however, that it is one thing to
ask for money and another to
receive it. In addition, plans are
being made to apply to private
foundations for grants and for the
clinic to go into business as a
training agency to provide fur
ther sources of revenue.
In an attempt to rally the
support of the community, Larry
pointed out “White Bird is
I'V'U II
providing more services for less
money than any other human
service agency in Lane County.”
The clinic maintains “the only 24
hour a day, seven day a week
crisis intervention service in the
community.”
Last year White Bird served
over 13,000 people.
— -a.— -»■- —
the sound of
fillmore west
comes to Eugene
with
the
, . . el vin
bishop
group
Two shows _ 7 & 10 p.m.
Friday,January 19
Lane County Fair Grounds
' «advance $3.50 at door
Tickets at Sun Shop and Chrystabhip
• Double Tee Productions
with
Providence
TH€ UMII^RSITY
film society
Proudly Presents
FRANK CAPRA
FILM FESTIVAL
r
FRI. JAN. 19 CAPRA I SAT. JAN. 20
8:00 THE STRONG MAN 8:00
A hilarious HARRY LANDON silent comedy
9:20 LONG PANTS 9:20
HARRY LANGDON survives again
10:30 LOST HORIZON 10:30
The RONALD COLMAN classic
^JEE POAGUE will speak FREE on CAPRA
Two different lectures 6:30 each Saturday
Mr. Poague’s work on Capra for his
dissertation has made him one of the
world’s leading authorities on this im
f portant filmmaker.
rFRIJAN.26 CAPRA II SATJAN.27
8:00 THE BATTLE OF RUSSIA 8:00
War propaganda from 1943
9:45 MEET JOHN DOE 9:45
GARY COOPER and BARBARA STANWYCK
can Middle America live up to its own
L rhetoric?
All showings and talks in 177 Lawrence
A Capra Festival Pass good for all showings
will be on sale at the door and at noon on
Jan. 19, EMU Terrace. The price for Film
Society members $1.25, non-members $1.75.
Individual tickets $1.00.