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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1981)
Rortland O bM rv«r. August 2 7 .1M1 R e g . 3 SOLE DESIGN OF PORTLAND EMO NE Union «.uOB Portland, OR. . q OV * Tai. 2 8 7 - 0 0 9 3 ^ 0 ^ ^ UPT0 f ,5 Dick Bogle -4K . A little more than ten years ago, the famous K erner com m ission, headed by then Illin o is governor O tto Kerner probed the reasons for the nations crime rate and rioting. It determ ined that fru strated hopes, powerlessness and poverty spawned the violence. It suggested job training, schools and better housing would help end It. Now, in fact just last week, a new Task force on V io len t C rim e re leased its final report. It too was co- chaird by another Illinois governor, James R. Thompson and former A t torney General G riffin Bell. But oh what a d ifference. In its more than 200 pages, it doesn’t sug gest massive causes or cures. Instead it zeroes in on punishment. One quote from the report says, " M illions o f our fellow citizens are being held hostage by their fear o f crime and violence.” The report calls for the expendi ture o f $2 billion to build new pri sons. A n o th e r recom m endation is to have inm ates serve th e ir fu ll sen tences and to allow prosecutors to use evidence even if police obtained it illegally, so long as the illegality was unintentional and the officers acted in "good faith .” It also calls for a waiting period in buying a handgun. (W e in Oregon have had such a law in practice for many years.) Preventive detention would permit federal judges to hold people in jail without bail if there is “ clear and convincing evidence” that they are dangerous or they have a past record o f com mitting crimes while on pretrial release. The Amer ican C ivil Liberties U nion calls the plan “ outrageous.” It says it turns the presum ption o f innocence en tirely on end by locking up arrested people because o f what they might do in the future. The A C L U says the task force is o ffe rin g a band-aid refo rm which w ill not reduce crime but w ill cut back on constitutional rights. Now some experts are wondering if this report will dent the nation’ s huge crime problem. Some are even saying the country lacks the will to curb crime. Somewhere there has to be a righteous middle ground. Crim e af fects all o f us sometimes d irectly and all the time indirectly. Blacks are the largest single group victims o f crim e. It hits everyone in the pocketbook when we have to pay higher prices at stores to cover the losses fro m s h o p lifters. It hits us em otionally too when we leave our homes fo r any time and wonder if our property is to be violated during our absence. But I certainly don’t want to see our c o n s titu tio n al rights eroded. But tell me what about a person who is arrested on a felo n y charge, brought before a judge who releases him on his own recognizance and goes out and commits another fe l ony and goes through the entire process not just again but three times. Right here in P o rtlan d this year one such d efendant did just that. He committed a serious crime. An Open Letter by Ronald R. Still C h ie f o f Police few m inutes i f the com puters are In my last open letter, I indicated This may be several blocks from under heavy use. that I would discuss what happens where the v io la tio n took place! The officer has the option to cite when a police o ffic er stops some Once the stop is made, the officer w ill pu ll the police car out at an you for the original violation. I f he one for a traffic violation. does cite you. he w ill give you a I picked this topic to clear up angle to protect themselves from copy o f the v io latio n and explain some confusion that citizens have passing autos. M ost o ffic ers w ill want to ap your options. Remember, if you dis regarding the actions a police officer proach your vehicle, rath er than agree with the citation, the place to takes during a traffic stop. argue is in court, not with the o ffi First when officers receive train have you come back to the police cer. ing on how to make a safe tra ffic car. The best thing you can do is re W hile this does not cover all as stop, safety for the citizen and the main in your car. Keep in mind the pects o f a traffic stop, I hope that it o ffic e r is o f prim ary im portance. o ffic e r is watching fo r sudden H isto rically, many officers are in movements or activity that will alert has provided an insight that will be beneficial to you. jured as the result o f a traffic stop. him to potential danger. As the officer approaches, he will I f you have com m ents or Most o f these injuries are related to assaults by the occupants o f the ve stand behind the door, out o f direct questions regarding the P o rtla n d Police B ureau, send them to me hicle being stopped. For this reason, line o f sight, for his protection. A fte r exp lain in g why you were through the Public Information O f officers are very careful and I hope citizens understand this if they are stopped and obtaining your d riv fice, 222 S .W . Pine, Portland, Ore stopped. Next, 1 will try to describe er’s license, the o fficer may verify gon, 97204. I will not be able to re the validity o f your license with the spond in my open letters to each and a typical traffic stop. D ep artm en t o f M o to r Vehicles. every concern, but will select those When an officer spots a violation, This is done because many people which will assist in improving com the first thing he must do is find a carry licenses even when they have munications and relations with the safe place to pull the vehicle over. no legal right. This check may take a community. From the Capitol Congressman Ron Wyden Q . Extension o f the Voting Rights A ct will be one o f the most import ant and controversial issues facing Congress this fall. H ow do you feel about this issue? A. I am in complete support o f ef forts to extend the Act beyond its scheduled 1982 expiration date. The Voting Rights Act is the most suc cessful civil rights law ever passed by the Congress. Since the Act was enacted, registration and voting per centages for Blacks and Hispanics have risen dram atically. The num ber o f minority elected officials has also increased significantly. But this does not mean that all o f the problems have been solved. Dis crimination is still prevalent in many areas. Blacks and other minorities are still being denied their right to vote. Extension o f the Act is needed to ensure that we do not lose what we have gained so far— and that we move even fu rth e r along tow ard eliminating all political discrimina tion. To that end, 1 have cosponsored HR 3112, introduced by Rep. Peter Rodino o f New Jersey. R o d in o 's b ill w ould extend the Act for 10 years. It would also con tinue for seven years the special pro visions o f the Act which provide voting assistance to non-English- speaking citizens in places where there are substantial numbers o f such citizens who could not cast an informed vote without such assist ance. In addition the bill would amend the Act to c la rify that the state carries the burden o f proof in voting discrimination cases. was released, com m itted another, was released, com m itted another, was released and c om m itted yet another. Judges blam e overcrowded p ri sons. O regon prisons no longer offer the rehabilitative job-training program s in the m agnitude they once did. Some prison o ffic ia ls say some inmates sim ply used them as a means o f impressing the parole board for an earlier release date. During the term o f Governor Bob Straub, a serious miscalculation o f future prison needs was made. Cor rections officials determined that a decline in the age group most likely to go to prison w ould occur and thus m ake construction o f a new prison here unnecessary. Couple that miscalculation with court rulings on prison overcrowd ing and we have exactly what we h ave.. .a growing crime rate, form er inmates released unprepared to cope w ith life on the outside and more and more victims. Save money on your insurance. Auto • Life • Fire •Commercial .Truck! M onthly Payments aw & as Tor tin hi top _gp • b u t IN IT4 CLASS «as. ss.ss sms n ss SAVE < 1 0.00 PUMA HI TOP AU. LEATHER «as a* i s SAVE «4 is 4 1 5 00 smk CONVERSE LEATHER Ml -TOP THE DP « a *-- 4 1 I S SAVE 3AUC. 3 2 S5 < 10 0 0 CONVERSE LEATHER LO- TbP «14 9 4 -I S SAVE ♦ S M I 3 0 .4 5 *1.00 FVEE POSTER FOR EACH PAIR OF SHOESPUJÇHASE^ J INTERESTING FACTS B ro u g h t T o Y o u Every W e e k A M ERICAN STATE BANK O d d ly , th e w o rd s " f la m m a b le ” a n d " in f la m m a b le " b o th m ean ex a c tly th e sam e th in g . C o n tra ry to p o p u la r o p in io n , th e L ib e rty Bell d id n 't c ra c k d u rin g th e R e v o lu tio n a ry W a r . Its fa m o u s c ra c k o ccu rred w h e n it rang fo r th e fu n eral o f C h ie f J u s tic e M arshall in 1835. It seem s herd to b elieve, b u t C h icag o is as fa r so u th as R o m e , Italy. • G aso lin e co st an a v e ra g e o f 19 ce n ts a g allo n in 1941. Rita H. Jenkins • S .I M R «prw »ri>»tiv. S tr a n g e ly e n o u g h , 3 2 % o f all th e n a m e s o f states in th e U .S . start w ith eith er th e letter " M " or " N " . 3714 N. Williams Portland O re jó n 97227 1903)249 American State Bank FARMERS AN INDEPENDENT BANK Head Office 2 7 37 N. E. Union Portland, Oregon 97212 ' Urners t e « World Lite Insurance Co Mercer Island WA THE GREAT RATE OF OREGON. Letters to the Editor To the editor: Sometimes some o f us begin to think we sound like broken records. We talk, talk, talk, and tell the dom inant society what they want to hear, and what they already know. N o one fears what they already know and one who always talks. We as Blacks are like that saying, “ A barking Dog Never Bites,” and we are always barking. W hy can’ t we keep our mouths shut and go about the business o f organizing in a concerted effort to get the Blacks to beat the dominant administration at its own game? As long as we are weak at the bal lot box, a fra id to speak out con structively w ith organized Blacks and stop telling the white adminis tra tio n every move we make and thought we thin k and w ill th in k , we’ll be forever appearing on public forum s, speaking o f the atrocities we are suffering, which seems to ap pease the ones who continue to do us harm. A t tim es, I suspiciously think many o f us arc a bunch o f cowards who are a fra id to make the dominant administration angry. As long as we dem onstrate and march and shake our fist in empty a ir, no one really has anything to fear. W e are h is to ric a lly short on memory for all the hurt and embar rassment that has been heaped upon all o f us. We never discuss a political fund for candidates that will help us. W e never discuss politics un til election time— that's too latel It was plain and written when the administration made its move to re place Commissioner Jordan as head o f the police what the outcom e would be. Now is the tim e to talk to all Blacks about unity and strength that w ill help us a ll. W e can organize through the churches and communi ty organizations as the moral major ity has done to m o b ilize our brothers and sisters. Or are we so ig norant that we are thinking that the churches are the wrong place to in clude? Are we so blind to believe we are supposed to be continually pro secuted? Every race o f people who comes in to these U n ite d States forms a cohesive organization and we are still talking and talking and talk in g and d em onstrating and shaking our fists in empty air. N ow is the tim e to talk to all Blacks about unity and strength that will help us all. The police will never stop until we show a strong arm o f unity in the ballot box. Please, less talk about what is be ing done to us and more talk directly to the Black community about how we can stop what is being done to us. I f persons from the white com m u n ity wish to help and lend strength, let them come and help and contribute constructively. F in ally, until all Blacks unite to stamp out the in d ignities placed upon us here in Portland, we will all perish as fools. For no Black is so high that he/she will not be pushed out by the dominant society. Walter F. Morris Jr. Between lOpmand Sain, you can call anyone, any where w ithin Oregon and talk 20 minutes for $2.00 o r less when you dial direct. So consider the state you’re in. l l i e n reach out and touch someone. Pacific Northwest Bell « l'«H| I ’.hllN SttflllW Ol H«ll A
