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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2000)
April 12, 2000 Page A5 (E tje IJorUtf nò © beeruer P ortland Remember April 17th is deadline tor tax returns - 2 extra days from Ifm le Sam ■■I Prescription drugs available at low cost con nunc ted stosv Is your m edication too expensive for your budget? I f so, inform ation in a new booklet m ight help. F inancial A ssistance N etw ork in W ashington, DC has ju st published a 32-page booklet, “2000 A nnual D ire c to ry o f F ree & Low C ost Prescription Drug Program s” . The re c e n tly u p d ated b o o k le t g iv e s inform ation on how and w here to get ’free & low cost prescription drugs. “ M any m ajor companies provide free or low cost m edication, but rarely, if ever publicize the program s.” says Paul N evestad, founder o f Financial A s s is ta n c e N e tw o rk . “ W e ’v e published an A to Z listing o f all the drugs that are available to certain qualified groups for free or at very lo w c o s t d ir e c tly fro m th e m anufacturer.” Consum ers can receive a copy by sending $5 to cover the printing, postage and handling to: Financial A ssistance N etw ork, P rescription Drug Booklet Offer, Dept. PDB-402- 1, P.O. Box 60848, W ashington, DC 200 3 9 -0 8 4 8 or at the F in an cial A s s is ta n c e N e tw o rk w e b s ite : w w w . financ i alass i stancenetwork. org 200 to attend Civil Rights luncheon LQMHlfiCrUiSIU&i Local elected officials, civic leaders, h o u sin g a d v o c a te s and h o u sin g professionals will convene at a Fair H o u sin g L u n ch eo n on M onday, A pril 17, 2000 at the Sm ith C enter Ballroom on Portland State University cam pus. T he luncheon, scheduled in April to c e le b ra te N ational F air H ousing Month, will feature fair housing expert Professor Robert Schwemm w ho will discuss thecivil rights o f people with disabilities in housing. Professor Schw em m , the A shland Professor at U niversity o f Kentucky C ollege o f Law and the author o f H ousing Discrim ination: Law and L itigation, is widely regarded as the leading legal thinker on the subject o f fair housing. A d y n a m ic sp e a k e r, P ro fe s s o r Schw em m has w ritten and lectured extensively on fair housing litigation. P r o f e s s o r S c h w e m m h as b e e n plaintiffs’ counsel in several landmark h o u s in g d is c r im in a tio n c a s e s , including tw o in the U.S. Suprem e Court: V illag eo f Arlington Heights v. M etropolitan H ousing D evelopm ent C orp (1977) and G ladstone, Realtors v V illa g eo f Bellwood (1979). During the past five years in Oregon, fair housing com plaints based on disability have gone from the fourth to the first most com m on type o f com plaint. Although it is difficult to know all o f the factors contributing to the rise in co m p lain ts b ased on , disability, one factor that contributes to the rise in co m p lain ts is the increased num ber o f people with disabilities who live independently in our com munities. The luncheon begins at 11:00 a.m. a T he registration fee for the luncheon is $ 25. T o o b ta in r e g is tra tio n inform ation, please call (503) 412- 6000. Chief from page 1 in c en tiv es for o ffic ers to report m isco n d u c t and w h ere th ey are required to report incidents accurately and truthfully. D oing this w ould go a long w ay in instilling ethical conduct in th e p o lic e b u re a u . A n o th e r im provem ent to the system w ould be to establish a review com m ittee made up o f officers that conduct ongoing e v a lu a tio n s , a n d u p d a te s o f d epartm ental reg u latio n s, subm it studies regularly, and stay inform ed o f new m ethods and technologies used by the police force. T he question o f how to hold police officers accountable w hen they abuse civilians has been a thorn in the side o f the Portland police bureau and com m unity at large. M any have been dissatisfied w ith how cases o f police brutality and m isconduct are handled w ithin the police adm inistration’s Internal A ffairs Division. T he Police A c c o u n ta b ility C a m p a ig n 2 0 0 0 (PAC2000) has petitioned an initiative to have an independent 13-m em ber civilian review com m ittee appointed b y C ity C o u n c il to in v e s tig a te c o m p la in ts o f a lle g e d p o lic e m is c o n d u c t a n d reco m m en d disciplines to the Chief. Furthermore, the com m ittee may require the Police Bureau to m ake changes in policies, practices, training and procedures. A bolder m ove w ould be to have a civilian review board com pletely replace the b ureau’s investigative body. Instead o f the board being c o m p le te ly in d e p e n d e n t, th e com m ittee could consist o f the mayor, police com m issioner, representatives o f city council and civilians w ho represent the dem ographic m akeup o f th e c o m m u n ity . H ea rin g s on com plaints could be handled w ithin 90 days o f the com plaint given and its results m ade available to the public. D ealing w ith the substantial under representation o f A frican Am ericans and H ispanics w ithin the police force, C h ief K roeker proposes to put people in positions that m erit the jo b and w ho are best qualified. “W e w ant to go al 1 out. W e need the help o f various m inority com m unities to help us find qualified people to jo in the Portland p o lic e. T he e n v iro n m e n t in the Portland Police Bureau is a good e n v ir o n m e n t fo r th e m ,” he a n n o u n c e d . H is g o a l is to aggressively seek out police officer candidates to fill the 57 vacancies w ithin 9 m onths. Before hiring these new candidates, a m ore stringent recruitm ent standard should be in place where a prospective police officer be considered in three areas: 1. E d u c a tio n le v e l, p h y s ic a l- fitness level, and the psychological ability to handle the stresses o f police work. 2. Experience i n urban areas where there is sensitivity to race and their issues. 3. P s y c h o lo g ic a l te s tin g th a t d e te r m in e s such th in g s as tem peram ent and prejudices. Im proving relations betw een police and co m m u n ity to bu ild stro n g partnerships is a need that C h ief K roeker endeavors to a c h ie v e . H e f u r th e r a d d s , “C om m unity policing depends on re la tio n sh ip s th a t go d eep w ith com m itm ent to one another and trust and understanding and respect for one another.” Broadening his vision som e w ould m ean rotating the police o f f ic e r s th r o u g h th e v a r io u s com m unity policing centers as part o f their probationary experience. C h ief K roeker regards com m unity involvem ent with the police as an “untapped energy.” M ore could be done in his assessm ent if 10% o f the city ’s population o f 513,000 would volunteer as neighborhood block captains or serve in different volunteer efforts w orking w ith their police d e p a r tm e n t s o lv in g p ro b le m s together. D espite all o f C h ief K roeker’s best intentions outlined for the city, will he deli veron them ? T hejury is out on that. A ttorney John L. Burris has said “C hange m ust com e from the heart before it can be m anifested on the street." This applies to C hief Kroeker i fh e i s going to dem onstrate effective leadership to m ake positive changes needed w ithin the Police Bureau and out in the com m unity. His challenge is set. The c ity now a w a its th e dem onstration o f the c h ie f s ability to deliver his heartfelt message. Domestic violence on the rise coxrium. irn sio o s Domestic violence is so com m on in M ultnom ah County that their partner i n the past year abused one in seven w omen betw een the ages o f 18 and 64. W om en in all age, racial and in co m e g roups are affected. That and other findings are included in “Domestic Violence in M ultnomah C ounty,” the first study o f the occurrence, nature and effects o f dom estic violence in the county, w hich was recently released. The report is based on a recent telephone survey o f 739 w om en ages 18to64inM ultnomahCounty. T he su rv ey fo c u se d o n ly on episodes o f physical and sexual v io le n c e b e tw e e n in tim a te p a rtn e rs , in c lu d in g m a rrie d couples, partners living together, and couples dating. The findings, w hich are consistent w ith a 1998 sta te w id e study, include: D om estic v io le n c e a ffec ts all women. M ostabusedwom en(8450 are white, 70% are em ployed, and h alf earn more than $25,000 a year. Some groups o f women experience m ore violence than others do. These include w om en w ho are young, u n m arried , poor, have c h ild re n , a n d h av e d ru g and alcohol problems. W hile male abusers com e from all p a rts o f o u r c o m m u n ity , so m e populations o f men are m ore likely to abuse. These include m en w ho have less education, are unem ployed, and have drug and alcohol problem s. Women experience a range o f violent acts. The violence is often serious. A buse patterns vary. Som e w omen a re a b u s e d v e ry o f te n ; o th e rs infrequently. The high level o f dom estic violence in the county m irrors rates for the state and nation. 21,000 children in the county were exposed to dom estic violence last year, w hich harm s their health and development. Abused w om en seek help and support in a variety o f w ays. M ost (80% ) turned to friends and family, followed by co-workers (40%), law enforcement (33%), health professionals (20%) and crisis lines (14% ). However, few women w ho sought help from friends and family received information about services or im m ediate help. R e c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r red u c in g dom estic violence and its impacts include: P re v e n tio n a n d in te r v e n tio n s tr a te g ie s s h o u ld ta r g e t th e com m unity as a w hole and high-risk populations, including young people and people w ho abuse drugs and alcohol. Services forabused w om en should be m o re a v a ila b le an d m o re com prehensive. People who work with children need to know how to identify those exposed to dom estic violence an in c re a s e s e rv ic e s to a d d re ss children’s ’ safety and em otional and developm ental needs. School policies and activities are n e e d e d to p ro m o te h e a lth y relationships betw een young men and women. More services are needed for men who abuse. Health and social serv ice providers need to recognize the connection between dom estic violence and abuses o f drugs and alcohol. P re v e n tio n a n d in te r v e n tio n strategies should build on natural networks, such as friends, family, churches, em ployers and health care providers. M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ’s H ea lth Department and Domestic Violence C o o rd in a to r's O ffice, Portland P o lic e B u rea u , an d P o rtlan d M u ltn o m a h P ro g re s s B o ard produced the report. C opies o f the report are available from the Multnomah County Health Departm ent, V iolence Prevention Program at (503) 988-3663, Ext. 22815. The report is on the web site :http://www'.co.multnomah.or.us/ dcfs/dv/index.html. Dumping from page 1 is a nutrient. It’s not included in our permit. A nd it has not been an issue raised to us by any agency.” N a tio n a lly , to x ic p o in t- s o u r c e discharges into U.S. w aters declined 1.5 percent betw een 1995 and 1997. But in O regon, they rose 8 percent over the same tim e period, according to E PA ’s inventory report. 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