Rortland O bM rv«r. August 2 7 .1M1 R e g . 3
SOLE DESIGN OF PORTLAND
EMO NE Union
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Portland, OR.
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Dick Bogle
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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
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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
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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
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