Street roots
Aug. 1, 2014
From strong women come strong families, strong Oregon
BY JENNIFER WILLIAMSON
C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T
omen are the fastest growing
inmate population in Oregon.
Locking up women brings a unique
set of issues to our families and our
communities. A system
built o n an assumption
that a one-size-fits-all
approach works for
everyone has clearly
failed, most notably
women. With a better
approach to addressing
mental health, addiction
issues, and other health care needs;*
services to stabilize families; access to
education; and employment opportunities
(including childcare), we could stem the tide
of incarceration for women across the state.
To do that, we have to take a hard look at
what we are doing now and why it is failing
women, their children, and our
communities.
W
State Representative
Jennifer Williamson
represents Oregon’s
36th District and is
Interim Executive
Director for the
Partnership for Safety
and Justice. PSJ is a
statewide nonprofit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to making
Oregon’s approach to
crime a nd public
safety more effective
and just.
Who are the Women
in Oregon’s Prisons?
In the past 10 years, while the number of
men in Oregon’s prison system has
increased by 28 percent, the number of
female inmates grew by 86 percent. Why
this increase? Because of mandatory
minimum sentences passed by Oregon
voters. Measure 57 created, mandatory
minimums for property and drug crimes
and, for a number of reasons, women
commit these nonviolent offenses more
often than other crimes. The over-
criminalization of nonviolent offenses by
Measure 57 is a primary cause of this
extreme and unnecessary spike in the
number of women going to prison.
Women inmates are more expensive than
men because they require more staff for
programming and treatment than men. The
majority of Oregon’s women inmates are
diagnosed as having mental health issues.
According to the Oregon Departm ent of
Corrections, 64 percent of women inmates
have serious mental health diagnoses, such
as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and
chronic depression. And 89 percent of this
inmate population entered prison addicted
to drugs or alcohol. Research indicates a
correlation between victimization and
substance abuse; a 2003 study found that
victims of rape are 26 times more likely to
have two or more serious drug abuse-related
problems than non-crime victims.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at
Chicago found that women who reported
two or more victimization experiences had
two to four times the prevalence of alcohol
dependence, drug abuse, or drug
dependence as women who reported no
victimization.
More than 75 percent of Oregon’s female
inmates are mothers. When they are
incarcerated, the state may have to take
cafe of their children through the foster
care system.
This system is failing everyone.
Oregon’s Justice Reinvestment:
A Path to Better Outcomes for
Women
In 2013, Oregon legislators passed a
significant public safety reform package,
House Bill 3194. The legislation’s goal is to
reduce the size and cost of the state prison
system by making smart investments in
local interventions that reduce crime and
violence, saving the state more than $300
million over the next five years. This
recalibration of our system is working. The
Oregonian newspaper reported that the
plans to build an extremely expensive new
prison at Junction City will now be put on
hold for at least 10 years* A large part of
this new prison bed need was to house
‘women inmates.
Justice reinvestment is providing an
opportunity for Oregon to choose a smarter
public safely path — one that relies less on
costly and often ineffective prison beds and
mòre on local interventions that are proven
tct work. This bill will impact women
because counties will be focused on
reducing prison bed use for nonviolent drug
a n d property crimes — those crimes that
Women commit at a disproportionate rate.
The hope is to see increased investment
in addiction treatment arid recovery
programs, victim services, re-entry
programs, evidence-based law enforcement
strategies, and prison programs that help
women succeed when they return to the
community and to their families.
Partnership for
Safety and Justice
For th e past three years, PSJ has been
the only statewide organization at the table
advocating on behalf of everyone impacted
by crime — survivors of crime, people
convicted of crime, and their families and
Communities. Justice reinvestment in
Oregon would not have happened without
PSJ’s work. Now, as counties move to invest
savings from this bill (and from not building
a prison!) into communities, PSJ will be
there to monitor implementation. We will be
watching to ensure that investments are
made in services for people who are victims
of crimes, people coming out of the system,
and additional addiction and mental health
treatment.
PSJ is the . only organization in the state
(and one of the first in the nation) to use
this holistic approach to public safety policy
advocacy. A significant part of the recent
justice reinvestment work focused on victim
services, PSJ worked with other victims’
organizations to double state funding for
domestic violence shelter beds and
programs across the state. Additionally, 10
.pereept^fithe money.reinvested*through.,,
HB 3194 must go to direct victim services.
Oregon is òn a sm arter public safety path.
Together, we can continue to build safe,
healthy individuals, families, and
communities.
Darkness
by John Lawson
We take for granted our sight
But once lost,
Our mind makes amends,
Our other senses
Become more acute
We’re able to hear
And smell
Our way around
Using touch
Smell
Hearing
Our way
Through the darkness within
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