Street Roots • April 1-7, 2016
Enough with juvenile Measure 11 charges
V"T T e know too much, and have seen enough
l / l / evidence of the consequences, to continue
V V punishing juvenile offenders as adults.
We know too well the research explaining the
development stages of a young brain to say that the
actions of a 16-year-old are derived
from the same comprehension
as those of a grown man or
woman.
And we’ve had generations to
understand that the biggest
impact of confinement and felony records isn’t as a
deterrent or eye-for-an-eye punishment, but a lifetime
trying to overcome the traumatic and sometimes criminal
lessons of imprisonment.
This is not to excuse the actions, sometimes horrific,
of young adults. A crime is a crime. But youths of color
are disproportionately in the crosshairs of heavy-handed
Measure 11 charges that carry the very real threat of
serious prison time. It is often an intimidation tactic,
with plea deals nearly guaranteed.
When four boys from Grant High School shoved and
threatened another student, they deserved to be
punished. They deserved to learn their lesson. They
were 15 and 16 years old at the time. They had time to
learn and make retribution.
Measure 11, passed by Oregon voters in the mid-90s,
requires that juveniles age 15 and older be automatically
tried in adult court and face a mandatory minimum
sentence if the prosecutor charges them with one of 21
Measure 11 crimes. These crimes range from assault and
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Editorial
robbery to rape and murder.
Measure 11 charges of first- and second- degree
robbery meant the Grant High boys were treated as
adults, and faced mandatory minimum sentences of more
than five years in prison. As predicted, the intimidation
worked and their charges were reduced to lesser
offenses. (Even if you had the money and time to go to
court, would you risk five years in prison with no early
release?) But the youths are still channeled through the
adult system, rather than the juvenile system with
services designed for youths. And their mug shots and
names were in the media, distributed online and forever
affixed on the Internet to serious felonies, regardless of
the ultimate conviction.
Since 1995, Oregon district attorneys have processed
more than 4,000 juveniles younger than 18 through adult
court under Measure 11. Multnomah County has the
highest rates, charging 1,200 youths with Measure 11
between 1995 and 2012. Of those, 66 percent were kids
of color, according to Oregon Justice Resource Center
data for both local and statewide figures. In 2015 alone,
among resolved juvenile Measure 11 cases in Multnomah
County, three out of four involved youths of color.
One could argue that charging youths as adults might
hold some merit if the practice was shown to reduce
crime rates.
It’s not.
So let’s take our heads out of the tough-on-crime
sandbox and really look at what we’re doing to juveniles
under Measure 11. It is ineffective and damaging. It is
costly and unnecessary. It is time to let it go.
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Staff
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israel@sheetroots.org
Managing Editor
Joanne Zuhl
\oanne@streeVoots.O(Q
Making progress in making housing a reality
itself out if we’re just able to build more housing units.
eople ask me if the homeless and housing
Wrong.
emergency in Multnomah County is working. The
One - Landlords continue to raise rents.
short answer is, yes. The long answer is, we’ve got
Two
- Of the nearly 22,000 new housing units have
a long way to go.
been built in the Portland region in the past five years
The most visible aspect of the homeless emergency is
only an estimated 3,000 of those units are affordable to
having the mayor’s office more or less legalize tent
low-income Portlanders. An estimated 85 percent of
camping. A lot of people have
those units are luxury units. It’s a train wreck.
doubted the mayor’s efforts. It’s
County Chair Deborah Kafoury recently said in her
my opinion, like it or not, that the
State of the County address, “The real question we face
policy is creating an atmosphere
DIRECTOR'! that regardless of how you feel
as a community is the same one we struggle with at the
about it, people understand the
county: What are our priorities?”
Kafoury goes on to say, “The greatest challenge we
issue at a much deeper level.
By*Israel Bayer
Weather you support homeless
face, in my view, is how to address the housing crisis in
campers in your neighborhood or
Multnomah County. Over the last year, rents countywide
hate having homeless people in
have jumped by double digits and the number of vacant
your neighborhood — the answer
apartments is hovering at 3 percent.
is still housing. It’s the humane thing to do.
The cheapest two-bedroom apartment is more than the
The reality is for people of color and poor people there
take-home pay of a minimum wage worker and more than
has been a housing crisis occurring in our community for
the benefits of a single parent with two children on
decades. Saying that, the homeless emergency is creating temporary cash assistance. That’s why people
an atmosphere in both government and in the private
increasingly need rent assistance and help finding a
sector to act swiftly on important housing policies.
home. But providing these services is getting harder.
Rental increases and evictions coupled with a shortage
We must find ways to include affordable units in the
of thousands of affordable housing units are creating a
multi-million-dollar developments that are rapidly
nightmare scenario in our community. Amid the backdrop changing our"neighborhoods. We need to work with
of a thriving city, people are struggling. That struggle is
private developers to increase the supply of affordable
real.
housing for renters and buyers. We also must keep rent
Both Mayor Charlie Hales and City Council, along with
affordable, otherwise sky-high rent increases and
the County Commission led by Deborah Kafoury have
no-cause evictions will push more people to need help.”
prioritized housing and homelessness. They’ve worked
True that.
hard to create new shelters, enact new tenant laws to
We are looking to our city and county leaders to
protect renters, and have supported legislation in Salem
continue to be bold and to dream big.
to support more affordable housing in our community.
Housing advocates and the larger community are
They are also promising to give additional support in ,
looking forward to helping make the dream of giving
next year’s budget cycle. These are all great steps, but it’s
people a safe place to call home a reality. A dream of that
not enough. Not even close.
isn’t just for the privileged and elite, but instead one that
T hink about this: Our region is short an estimated
gives poor and working people a fighting chance to have a
40,000 affordable housing units and growing. Some
better life.
people say that the private housing market will short
■
.. desk
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
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Twitter @israelbayer.
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