P ige 2
Portland/Observer
Thursday. December 27, 1973
Youth programs best
prevention of crime
by Vernon Jordan
E d ito r/P u b lish e r
EDITORIAL FOCUS
"Be fair to Nixon"
•
: A ll o ve r th e n a tio n a n ew cry is b e in g h ea rd —
"B e fa ir to the P re sid e n t".
The p e o p le w h o a re d e m a n d in g th a t the Presi
d e n t's sins be o v e rlo o k e d , th a t he be fo rg iv e n in
the interest o f n a tio n a l u n ity, are fo rg e ttin g the
m a g n itu d e o f President N ix o n 's crim es a g a in s t the
A m e ric a n p e o p le and the C o n stitu tion he sw ore to
u p h o ld .
President N ix o n a nd his a id es have d e p riv e d the
A m e ric a n p e o p le o f th e ir rig h t to an honest, fre e
a pd u n ta m p e re d p re s id e n tia l e le ctio n .
He has
bidught
— a n d stolen
--
the o ffic e o f the
p re sid e n cy, th e n used the A m e rica n p e o p le 's
respect fo r th a t o ffic e to a v o id an honest disclosure
o f his in v o lv e m e n t in a m u ltitu td e o f ille g a l and
u n e th ica l a ctivitie s.
President N ix o n has p la ce d h im s e lf a b o v e the
la w a nd b e yo n d th e courts.
There are just too
m a n y e x a m p le s o f co rru p tio n in his a d m in is tra tio n
fo r a ll o f th e m to be o v e rlo o k e d by the p e o p le —
the W a te rg a te a ffa ir , ille g a l c a m p a ig n procedures,
the a tte m p te d use o f the In te rn a l R evenue Service
a ga in st his " e n e m ie s " , th e Vesco case, the ITT and
D airy cases, N ix o n 's possible inco m e tax evasion,
w ire ta p p in g , fo rm a tio n o f a secret p o lic e , in te r
fe re n ce in Justice D epartm ent inve stiga tion s, the
N ixo n p ro p e rty dea ls, suspected in v o lv e m e n t w ith
H o w a rd H ughes — and it goes on a n d on. This is
not a case o f p re s id e n tia l d iscre tio n , b ut o ne o f the
use o f p re s id e n tia l p ow ers to fu rth e r the interests
o f the p re sid e n t a n d his frien ds.
This is not the tim e to ca ll fo r ''fa irn e s s to the
P re sid e n t". It is th e tim e to ca ll fo r re sig n a tio n or
im p e a ch m e n t.
Court decides against
constitutional rights
The U S. Suprem e C ourt has d e te rm in e d th a t a ny
person w h o is arrested fo r a n y reason can be
forced to u nd ergo a c o m p le te search. In cu stod ial
arrests — those w h e re the suspect is ta ken to the
p o lic e station
— persons w ill no lo n g e r be
c o n fin e d to a b rie f " fr is k in g " to d e te rm in e if
th ere a re co nce aled w ea po ns or e v id e n c e o f the
crim e fo r w h ich he w as arrested. Even the person
w h o is arrested fo r a tra ffic o ffe n s e can u n d e rg o a
co m p le te search.
This d ecision brings a new in te rp re ta tio n to the
Fourth A m e n d m e n t, w hich protects the c itiz e n fro m
"u n re a s o n a b le search and s e iz u re ". M a n y c o n s ti
tu tio n a l la w ye rs forsee an increase in the n um be r
o f custodial arrests fo r tra ffic o ffe nse s a nd m in or
in frin g e m e n ts o f the la w or an excuse to search
the in d iv id u a l fo r e v id e n ce o f drugs, m e m b e rsh ip
in "s u b v e rs iv e " groups, p o rn o g ra p h y or a ny o th e r
crusade th e p o lic e d e p a rtm e n t is u n d e rta k in g at
the m om en t.
This n e w p o lic e p o w e r w ill be used most o fte n
against Blacks a nd o the r m in o ritie s , students,
" h ip p ie s " , a n d the o th e r less d e s ira b le fa ction s o f
society.
It w ill not b rin g m ore e ffe c tiv e la w
e n fo rc e m e n t or h e lp in p ro secu ting o rg a n iz e d
crim e — it w ill not assist the honest p o lic e m a n
w h o is a tte m p tin g to p ro tect the c o m m u n ity . If w ill
be a n o th e r to o l in th e hands o f the b ig o t — the
p o lic e m a n w h o is d e te rm in e d to harass a nd
in tim id a te those he is sw orn to protect.
Ban hits only poor
M oy
the happiness
of the holidays remain
in our hearts through all
the New Year ...t o
brighten our Hoes with
true comfort and toy.
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Published every Thursday by Exie Publishing Company.
22111 North Killingsworth. Portland, Oregon 97217. Mailing
address: P.O. Box 3137. Portland. Oregon 97200. Telephone:
283 248«
Subscriptions: $5.25 per year in the Tri ( ounty area. $«.00
per year outside Portland.
Second Class Postage Paid at Portland. Oregon
The Portland Observer's official |M>Mtiori is expressed only
.n it's Publisher's Column iWe See The World Through
Black Eves). Any other material throughout the paper is the
opinion of the individual writer or submitter and does not
-necessarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer.
M E M B ER
meint« r
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Association
MEMBER
NÊWAw
Senator Jam es B uckley, co n se rva tive R epublican
Senator fro m N e w York, has in tro d u c e d a n d e r to a
b ill in the Senate to p re ve n t the use o f social
security fu n d s fo r a b o rtio n s
— w h ich w o u ld
p e rm it those persons on the M e d ic a id p ro gram
fro m le g a lly h a v in g abo rtio ns. At the present tim e
20 m illio n persons re c e iv e m e d ic a l care from
M e d ic a id , w h ic h is the fe d e ra l p ro g ra m p ro v id in g
h e a lth care to the p oo r and persons on w e lfa re .
W h e the r Black w o m e n — or o th e r w o m e n
should have a b o rtio n s or not is not the question.
The q ue stion is w h e th e r lo w in co m e p e o p le and
m in o ritie s w ill be used as p o litic a l hostages, w h ile
the a b o rtio n d e b a te rages in the la rg e r co m m u n ity.
The q ue stion is w h e th e r poor fa m ilie s , w ho are
d e p e n d e n t on g o v e rn m e n t p ro gram s fo r th e ir
m e d ic a l care, w ill have the sam e rights to self-
d e te rm in a tio n as th e w h ite m id dle -cla ss fa m ilie s
w h o can purchase th e ir m e d ic a l care. The b ill w ill
not o u tla w a b o rtio n — it o n ly o u tla w s a b o rtio n
fo r the poor.
The result o f fo rb id d in g a b o rtio n to the poor w ill
b rin g a b o u t the c o n d itio n s that p re v a ile d p rio r to
recent le g is la tio n p ro v id in g fo r le g a l a b o rtio n . The
price o f ille g a l a b o rtio n was p a id in the currency
o f w o m e n 's d ig n ity , w o m e n 's h e a lth and som e
tim es, e ven w o m e n 's lives. M ore than 9 o ut 10 o f
those w h o d ie d a t th e hands o f inco m p e te n t
p ra ctitio n e rs in the days b e fo re a b o rtio n s w e re
lea al w e re Black or Puerto Rican.
W h e the r a b o rtio n is rig h t or w ro n g — w h e th e r it
is a fo rm o f "g e n o c id e " -- this b ill is racism at its
worst. The rig h t to a b o rtio n has been d e te rm in e d
to be a c iv il rig ht.
The court has d e c id e d that
a b o rtio n is to be d e te rm in e d by the in d iv id u a l,
th e re fo re it must be d e cid e d by e v e ry in d iv id u a l,
not just by those w h o can pay.
Passage o f this b ill w o u ld be a step b a ckw a rd to
race a nd class d is c rim in a tio n .
Let Black p e o p le
and not Congress d e c id e fo r them selves.
REMODEL"
E EASY
m au
You can have an
Aatocittion - Founded 1885
efficient and b e a u tifu l
kitchen, set up the w a y
you w ant it. Call now
PEPI’S BOTTLE SH O P
fo r free estimates.
Expert w o rk.
Let Pepi's Bottle Shop be your headquarters for cham
jagne. wines, mixers . . . at the lowest prices in town.
Lloyd Center
Next to
the Liquor Store. Pepi's one
and only store. Open 0:30
a.m to 9:00 p.m. daily.
Sundays: Noon to 4:00 p.m.
2 8 1 -2 7 3 1
WENDELL E. BRO W N
CONSTRUCTION C O M PANY
A model neighborhood contractor
Member - Albina Contractor« Axaociation
575
N . K illin g s w o r th
2 8 9 -5 5 4 9
Research reports about the
system oi criminal justice are
pouring off the presses in
ever increasing numbers and
they all add up to one big
fact that everyone intimately
connected with the police,
prisons and courts knows all
too well that the system has
broken down and is a failure.
Just consider the findings
of three reports issued with
in days of each other recent
ly:
A federal panel, the Na
tional Advisory Commission
on Criminal Justice Standards
and Goals, reports that pri
sons are "obsolete, cannot be
reformed, and should not be
perpetuated." Stop building
prisons the Commission
says, and give offenders light
sentences that place them in
work release programs and
in the hands of community-
based agencies.
A Police Foundation study
of police deployment in Kan
sas City concluded that sat
uration patrols by uniformed
cops in marked vehicles does
not reduce crime.
Target
areas were regularly patroll
ed by one car. the city’s
standard patrol method, by
four cars, its saturation pa
trol, and a control area that
had no regular patrol at all
police just responded to calls.
What happened? Believe
it or not, the biggest in
crease in crime was reported
in the district that was
constantly patrolled by four
cars. The standard one car
patrol district had a slight
rise in crime over last year.
And the no patrol area ac
tually had a decrease in
reported crime.
A special blue ribbon panel
in New York condemned the
system of caring for juvenile
delinquents. They said the
system provides no services
for children most in need,
there is no equal access to
rare and treatment, and
"racism consciously or un
consciously pervades the
child care system.
These reports explode
some of the myths held by
most people abojt crime and
its prevention. Most people
think that bigger prisons and
longer sentences will make
the streets safer.
That's
fantasy. Prisons only work
for the ¡teople who get con
tracts to construct them and
the civil servants who work
in them. Typical sentences
are already longer than in
most other countries.
All prisons seem to be able
to do is leach younger in
mates how not to get caught
again.
They don't deter
crime; they increase the pro
«ability of its rise by embit
tering convicts, by refusing
to provide treatment and
training, and by treating
human beings like raged
animals.
So current state and fed
eral plans for spending sev
eral billion dollars on bigger
and better prisons amount to
a fantastic waste of money,
energy and human lives.
An even stronger myth is
the one about how all it
takes to cut crime is to put
more cops on the street.
The Kansas City test throws
some cold water on that one,
too. Over half of all crimes
occur indoors out of view of
street patrol cars. It is safe
to say that an investment in
community agencies and po
lice co m m u n ity relations
could prevent many crimes
from being committed.
From a long range view,
the condemnation of the ju
venile justice system is most
important.
The picture is
one of neglect of detained
children no training, no vis
ible attempts at dealing with
their problems and racial
distinctions all along the line.
Since much of the crime
rise in recent years is direct
ly attributable to the fact
that there are more and
more people in the younger
age groups that tend to run
afoul of the law. the best
way to cut crime is to adopt
constructive youth programs.
The lack of serv ices and the
constant resort to caging
young offenders only insures
that kids who could he put
on the right track are de
flected onto a course that
will lead to future, more
serious offenses.
So the present criminal
justice system is one big
failure.
But crime is an
ever present danger that still
has to be dealt with. In next
week's column I'll make some
suggestions about how to
make our communities safer.
CHEERIO
Greeting»
Com* on . . . tmilel Be
happyl It't going to
be a great New Year I
Blow horntl Make a
joyful n oitel Know
that ¡ f t going to be
a great year.
Here't to a New Year
that'i along modern
linetl One that pur-
tuet progrett to ben
efit alt of mankind.
Mr. and Mr».
Mr. and Mr». Edmond Green
and Christy
Mr. and Mrs James Harnett
Joil Southwell
PAIGE'S PHARMACY
2701 N.E. 7th
284 4«56
Prescriptions are
our Specialty
Mr and Mr». Lee llardawav
Not Everyone
Police
(Continued from pg. 1, col. 9)
eral times in the face, then a
cup of CTA thrown in his
face.
The attendant who
went for the CTA said he
brought only one cup and
that it was used immediately
as he handed it to the em
ployee that was involved in
the fighting.
Harper said the employees
got an aerial and a wrench
and threatened him. He said
he was not aware of any
thing thrown in his fare until
he was maced in the car and
that his fare did not hurt
until that time.
Harper told the Observer
that he intends to sue the
city.
He said he believes
that if he does not persue
the case this type of treat
ment of Blacks will continue.
Officer Jim m erfield has
also been charged witll bru
tality by Mrs. Freddie
Thompson, who alleged that
he pushed her, struck her in
the fare, and railed her racial
names when she was at
tempting to find out why her
son was being arrested on a
streetcorner near her home.
Mrs. Thompson, who was
arrested for resisting arrest,
assault and interfering, has
not yet come to trial.
It't all tet up. Going
to be the very belt
year yet. Let t greet
it with a cheer, live
it with a tmile.
Subscribes
To The
I
Portland Observer
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
P.O. Box 3137
Portland, Oregon 97208
We'll tell the world
we with you the bettl
Than k t for your good
will and confidence.
Nam e
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A d d r e s s _______ T ---------
Robert Smith
City
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