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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2015)
Street Roots • May 1-7, 2015 News Page 5 TRI MET, from page 4 there.” Greenlick says TriMet may want to keep the Public defenders in Multnomah County and status quo because district attorneys like to legislators in support of the bill argue the have serious charges “at their fingertips” so penalty an IPT carries is too harsh and that the they can plea bargain to less serious charges. charge is disproportionately issued to people “They argue that they’d never try to put experiencing homelessness and people of color. someone in jail for a year (for an IPT). Well The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission found then, if you’re not going to put someone in jail that 54 percent of those charged with IPT for a year, why do you have it there to hang over between 2010 and April 2014 were white, and their head?” 27 percent were African Of the 364 IPTs that American - TriMet’s came through the estimates on the Metropolitan Public l a a ve rw te la tia g SO percent percentage of African- Defenders’ office, 29 American riders during a ll "In te rfe rin g w ith pub percent resulted in a the same period of time lic tra n s it" cases that came misdemeanor conviction. fluctuated, but never rose More than half were throngh the p ub lic defenders' above single digits. dismissed or acquitted, office were Issued under the IPTs were issued 840 subset of the law that HB 2 8 2 6 but not before tax dollars times in the Portland paid for the arrest, metro area in 2014. aimed to re n te w ~ entering prosecution, defense, and Rothman came to the and rem aining ©a transit prop in some cases, jail stay. In early April meeting at erty unlaw fully, Multnomah County th e TriMet headquarters average jail sentence for armed with data she says an IPT conviction was 15 an office intern days at a cost of $2,520 painstakingly compiled per inmate. by going through all 364 IPT cases that came “We want to retain as much of the ability for through the Metropolitan Public Defenders’ us to be able to do things as possible,” says office in 2014. Deas. “The session always kind of lights a fire The data show only 2 percent of defendants to make things happen - things can happen in were issued an IPT for intentionally disrupting the Legislature - so I think this is one of those the flow of transit Five percent were issued where we say, OK, we better look at this and if IPTs for disorderly conduct and 3 percent for We don’t come up with a reasonable action plan physical contact involving a transit employee or before the next session, then there will be ‘ transit police officer. An overwhelming 90 action.” percent of all IPTs that came through the Public According to Deas, IPT is useful when Defenders’ office were issued under the subset dealing with riders who have been “excluded 20 of the law that HB 2826 aimed to remove - tim es and kejep cpufinuhig• "Wt^Kfig ^nd’rerriaming on transit property Across the Rocks by Rachel D A solitary traveler walks along the beach at dusk .A friend of mine told me about a locals-only campsite called “Devil’s Blood. Across the rocks, past the houses, into the woods, behind a huge tree stump. My refuge. An A-frame, left behind vodka, brush covering. Its still cold, wet and hard but at least I can get some r e s t I am thankful to wake up to such a view. Now its time to pack up, such an undertaking. This is the life I have chosen, but is it really worth it? Back across the rocks, where treachery abounds. It’s hard to know where you are going When you have to look down. Climb up to where the path is easier. My friend advised me, Where the rocks are smaller. Does that say something about life? There is more movement underfoot, but the movement is less important Speckled grey becomes solid dark as the rain creates danger. Now I am to the sand. What was once drudgery is now a welcome relief. To the road, bike, bus. The road gets easier, the road gets harder, The road is ever-changing. The most comfortable place I’ve slept in weeks was on that bus. says if ffiey get a lesser charge, like criminal unlawfully. Deas, TriMet’s Government Affairs Manager, says the bill has reused questions about how IPTs are issued, but TriMet is not convinced there’s a problem. “I think that after having our meeting, we determined that there’s a lot of anecdotal information, and.there’s some data, but there isn’t really any complete data,” says Deas. “We have no interest in giving people tickets unless we need to, and we don’t want to be giving people the wrong tickets, but we also don’t want to be hamstringing our transit police and our district attorneys that work with us to keep our system moving, so there’s kind of a balance trespassing, they get processed and released the same day and get back on public transit that evening. The Amalgamated Transit Union also opposed the bill. According to union president | Bruce Hansen, “We tried to find a way to support the bill,” but he says the union didn’t like the language. He says once a rider is excluded, he or she can pose a threat to transit employees. While transit police can continue to issue IPTs for a broad range of offenses for now, the issue is unlikely to go away. “It’s fairly dead for this session, but it’s not forgotten,” says Greenlick. Better health The Power of a Smile by Mike D. The power of a gun can kill And the power of a fire can burn The power of the wind can chill And the power of the mind; can learn The power of anger can rage Inside until it tears you apart But the power of a smile Especially yours can heal a broken, frozen heart Are you a ■ here for you Delivering physical, behavoriat health and dental health care for over 230,000 children, Veteran experiencing or at risk of becoming homeless? families and individuals 3n the Oregon Health Plan in the Portland W ^ d u n iy area. V- Together we are Transition Projects HsatófcSte» «{ tegoss www.healthshareoregon.org Please call 855.425.5544 or visit 650 NW Irving Street :
