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Street roots
Dec. 19, 2014
Pulling the arc toward justice
BY PARTNERSHIP FOR SAFETY
A N D JUSTICE STAFF MEMBERS
C O N T R IB U T IN G * C O L U M N IS T S
2
based programs that help people succeed,
like victim services, re-entry services,
addiction treatment and mental health
programs.
r. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The
arc of the moral universe is long, but
it bends toward justice.” President
PSJ knows that policies are only effective
Obama added, “But it does not do so on its
if they’re implemented well. In the 2014
own. It does so because there are hands session,
of
we engaged legislators on how their
ordinary people doing extraordinary things
communities are investing in justice
every single day and they reinvestment funding. We worked with allies
pull that arc in the
to protect justice reinvestment from being
direction of justice.”
watered down through proposed legislative
Recent grand juries’
changes. Thanks to the smart decision-
decisions.not to indict
making and dedication of legislators, justice
police officers involved
reinvestment is still intact Oregon is on
in killing unarmed
track to spend less on prison beds and
people has led many
invest more in community health and safety.
people to question
whether the arc is bending
toward justice. Partnership for Safely and
Access to Emergency Housing
Justice believes that these killings are the
PSJ was honored to support the Housing
tragic expression of a brutal system that has Alliance’s efforts during the 2014 session to
led to 2.3 million Americans currently being increase funding to prevent homelessness.
held behind bars, the criminalization of
Everyone deserves a safe place to call home
addiction and mental illness, and the
— obtaining one can be difficult for domestic
prosecution of children as if they were fully
violence survivors. Often,'abusive partners
developed adults. This system and its
control money and resources, so survivors
extreme costliness have also diverted
may not have access to bank accounts or ID.
resources from services for crime victims,
Without these resources, it is extremely
addiction treatment, mental health Care,
difficult to rent a new apartment or even a
education and other programs that help
motel room for the night. For survivors
people emerge from poverty and participate
living at poverty levels, the challenges are
successfully in society.
even larger.
PSJ also believes that this system, can
Legislatorsinvested an additional $2
change. *As painful as it is to experience
million to help prevent or end
continued injustice, we are also encouraged
homelessness. Now, 1,300 additional
by movement towards increased justice. As
Oregonians, many of whom are domestic
PSJ reaffirms our commitment to creating
violence survivors, have a safe place to stay!
justice, safely and health throughout our
communities in 2015, we wanted to
Justice for Oregon’s Youth
acknowledge some of the gains made this
In the 2014session, PSJ pro m o ted 'sm art
year, as we dig in our heels so we can pull
-pohty-totreat^tottfe'eenvieted^Measmre
moretowards justicenext-year..
11 offenses, as youth, instead of adults^ We
helped pass HB 4037, which enables youth
Justice Reinvestment
convicted as adults to go directly to an
In 2013, PSJ helped pass HB 3194,
Oregon Youth Authority facility for intake.
transformative reform legislation that
In the past, youth were transported -
flatlines. prison growth for five years and
together with adult offenders - to an adult
saves more than $300 million. HB 3194
prison, before being, transferred to OYA.
created the Justice Reinvestment Grant
Some youth spent a week or more in the .
Program, which distributes savings from
adult prison for processing, usually in an
ayerted prison growth into community?
isolation cell for their own protection. HB
a
Partnership fo r Safety
a n d Justice is a
statewide, nonprofit
advocacy
organization
dedicated to m aking
Oregon’s approachto
crime a nd public
safety more effective
a n d just.
.
ank vou to all of our readers who made 2014 a
smendous year for our vendors! Thanks_to you,
vendors are looking forward to 2015.
4037 helps ensure that youth can go directly
to OYA and begin the rehabilitation process
immediately.
Oregon Measure 91
Oregon voters approved Measure 91 by
56 percent. Measure 91 establishes a*
controlled system of legal marijuana
regulation and taxation for adults 21 and
over. Oregon joins Washington and -
Colorado, and now Alaska and Washington,
D.C., as places where voters have rejected
laws that criminalize people who use
marijuana.-
-. •
PSJ urged a yes vote on Measure 91. We
believe that marijuana should be addressed
as a health issue, not a crime. For decades,
tough-on-crime drug sentencing policies tied
up law enforcement dollars, restricted .
employment opportunities and access to
housing for people convicted of marijuana
offenses, and often resulted in the unfair
treatment of young people and people of
Color. Too many public resources were
diverted that should have been used to help
crime victims and address unmet
comihunity needs across Oregon.
California Proposition 47
It’s worth acknowledging California’s pull
toward justice in the November election.
Passing by 58.5 percent,. Proposition 47
retroactively reclassifies many low-level
propertyand drug offenses from felonies to
misdemeanors. As many as 10,000 people
convicted of these offenses may now be
eligible to petition for early release. There -
may be 40,000 fewer felony convictions in
California each year.
Like O re g o n ’s J u s tic e r e in v e s t m e n t,
savings are invested back into communities.
California is estimated to save $150 million,
which will be used to support victim, g
services, mental health and addiction
treatment, students’ success, and programs
providing alternatives to incarceration.
| These are just some of the extraordinary
changes that ordinary people created this
year. We know we still have a long way to
go. Together, let’s seeTiow far we can pull
the arc toward justice in 2015.