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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2004)
luly 28. 2004 Îlîe ^portlanh (©bserber Page B3 L aw & J ustice CRIME STOPPERS Local Juvenile Crime Rises (503) 823-HEIP 111 S.W. 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97204 Increase may signal effects of budget cuts Juvenile crim e in M ultnom ah C ounty rose slightly in 2003, ac cording to the M ultnom ah C ounty D epartm ent o f C om m unity Justice. Despite the overall increase in crime, recidivism am ong youth offenders continued to drop. A fter falling forfive straight years - ap erio d in w h ich ^iv en ile crim inal referrals declined nearly 30 percent nile crim e corresponded to m ajor cutbacks in state and county fund ing for services aim ed at troubled youth, including a 7 0 percent re duction in state funding for ju v e nile crim e prevention services in - ju v en ile crim inal court referrals r o * by 5 percent in 2003, t o m 3 ,8 |P to 4 ,0 6 5 . W hifeju v etiilecrim e ro sein 2003, the num ber o f you! c o m m ittin g th o se c rim es continues to fall. L ast year, a total o f 2 ,8 1 1 youth o f fenders w ere referred by police to ju v en ile co u rt for crim inal charges, a decrease o f 32 youth, 1.1 percent, from the previous year. Thia data M ultnom ah C ounty. S ta te S e n a to r *Avel G o rd ly said , "W e sh o u ld all be troubled by this “W e’re putting o u r focus on the highest risk kids. It’sw h ere we can m ake the biggest difference in p ro tecting the com m unity and it’s the best use o f o u r increasingly lim ited re so u rces.” T h e rise in ju v en ile crim e was driven In large part by a surge in p ro p e rty o ff e n s e s . A u to th e ft ju m p ed 47 percent in the last year and burglary rose 19 percent. Theft Bank Fraud Suspect at Large T h e F B I , in c o o p e r a t io n w ith C rim e S to p p e r s , n e e d s y o u r h e lp in fin d in g a p e rs o n w a n te d fo r b an k fra u d . A y esh a E liz a b e th Jo h n so n , 22, w as in d ic te d by a fed eral g ran d ju ry fo r b ank fraud. T h e in d ictm en t stem s from c rim e s c o m m itte d in W ash in g to n . J o h n s o n o p e n e d b a n k a c c o u n ts , in f la te d th e b a la n c e w ith w o rth le s s c h e c k s a n d m a d e o f f w ith th e m o n e y . J o h n s o n is d e s c r ib e d as a b la c k fe m a le , a b o u t 5 fe e t 8 in c h e s ta ll an d a b o u t 16 5 p o u n d s . S h e h a s b la c k h a ir a n d b ro w n e y e s . T h e F B I s a y s th a t J o h n s o n h as tie s to P o rtla n d a n d S a le m . W h ile a g e n ts h a v e c h e c k e d p a s t a d d re s s e s w ith o u t s u c c e s s , sh e is b e lie v e d to b e in th e a re a . Ayesha Elizabeth Johnson saw a 10 percen t increase. Ju v e n ile p erso n o ffen ses such as hom icide, sex offenses, ro b b eries and assau lts de- Since A pril, the Portland Fire is likely that these fires m ay be the clinedSpercent in 2003, con at m ore than $100,000. B ureau has responded to tw enty w ork o f one person. tinuing an overall trend in Several o f p o rt-a-p o tty fires I separate vehicle fires in east and the country. In the last five Police believe the targeted ve have occurred in the sam e geo so u th east P o rtlan d , cau sed by hicles have been chosen at random y e a rs , p e rs o n o ff e n s e s graphic area and during the sam e acts o f arson. B ased on inform a and set on fire during the night. The co m m itted b y y o u th have tim e frame. T hese m ight also be the | tion gathered by investigators, it estim ated am ount o f dam age is set d ro p p ed 36 percen t in the w ork o f the sam e suspect. co u n try . H o w ev er, ju v e n ile h o su g g ests th at a sm a lle r m ic id e re fe rra ls d o u b led num ber o f youth are re o v e r the p ast y ear, from O n S u n d a y , Ju n e 6, as a lo w sponsible for a larger w o u n d to h is head. se v e n to 14, alth o u g h rid e r sh o w w as lettin g out at the proportion o f the crime. D e te c tiv e s b e lie v e th is h o m ic id e m o re th a n th re e q u a r P ortland E xpo C enter, police w ere M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ___ fo llo w e d an a rg u m e n t b e tw e e n 13,h ters o f th e se fo u rteen | c a lle d to a sh o o tin g n e a r N o rth C hair D iane Linn said the county is uptick in the num bers. W e appear S tr e e t a n d 18,h S tr e e t H is p a n ic g a n g w e re ‘a tt e m p t e d ’ h o m ic id e s , V ic to ry B o u le v a rd an d N o rth paying clo se attention to the rise in to be going backw ards at a time m e m b e rs n e a r th e fr o n t d o o rs o f the w h ich m ay be a re su lt o f th e re E x p o R oad. W h en th ey a rriv ed , youth crim e referrals. Alexx w hen we see an increase in vio c e n t s u rg e in g a n g v io le n c e . E x p o C e n te r. th ey fo u n d 1 6 -y ear-o ld A lexx “T he bad new s is that ju v en ile lence am ong young people. A re we Alexander D e te c tiv e s w an t to talk to an y o n e W e a p o n s o ff e n s e s a ls o in A le x a n d e r, su ffe rin g from g u n crim e is up. T he good new s is that paying atten tio n ? A nd w hat are w ho saw the arg u m e n t an d can id en tify c re a se d 20 p ercen t last year. D rug sh o t w o u n d s. H e w as rid in g in a c a r at the tim e o f our ju v en ile probation departm ent w e, as a com m unity, prepared to do p e o p le in v o lv e d o r w h o h as o th e r in fo rm atio n o ffe n se s co n tin u ed to fall steep ly , th e sh o o tin g . continues to drive dow n the num about it?” ab o u t th is h o m ic id e . T h ey w o u ld a ls o like to see d o w n 31 p e rc e n t fro m la st y ear. A le x a n d e r w as tran sp o rted to a h o sp ital, w here ber o f kids com m itting new crim es,” p ic tu re s and v id e o s p e o p le m ay h av e from the Joanne F uller, D irector o f the O v e ra ll, ju v e n ile d ru g o ffe n se s he w as p ro n o u n c e d dead . He d ied o f a g u n sh o t she said. lo w -rid e r show . D epartm ent o f C om m unity Justice, d ro p p e d 55 p e rc e n t sin ce 1998. R esearchers could not sp ecu w hich ov ersees youth on proba T o view the full report, visit late w hy the increase occurred, but tion and o perates the co u n ty ’s ju w w w .c o .m u ltn o m a h .o r .u s /d c j/ experts note that the spike in ju v e v e n ile d e te n tio n c e n te r, sa id , ev alu ation.shtm l#juvenilereports. T he P ortland Police B ureau, in quiet, W ednesday m orning. P o rt I cooperation w ith C rim e Stoppers, land w as in the m iddle o f a w inter needs your help in solving a ho s to rm a n d sn o w c o v e re d the I micide. gro u n d . O n D ec. 31, 2 0 0 3 , at a b o u t L ittle is know n about P rasad-I Aaron King 6 :4 5 a .m ., an O re g o n ia n d e liv services become available,” Waxman tal health treatm ent stay in d eten K in g ’s activities leading up to his was murdered ery p erso n h eard the so u n d o f said in a statem ent. “T his is deplor tion facilities longer than o th er d e death, o r w hy he w as in this alley on December g u n fire in th e area o f N o rth able. C ongress m ust ensure that our tainees. T hey average 23.4 day s in at this particular tim e. D etectives M ich ig an and N o rth S h av er. A children have access to the mental detention, com pared w ith an av er w ould like to h ear from anyone few m in u tes later, she found 17- c a lle d p o lice. health care that they need.” age o f 17.2 day s for all detainees. w ho has any inform ation about y ear-o ld A aron M ichael P rasad- C ollins scheduled a hearing on A ccording to detectives, Prasad- this hom icide or any body w ho may O ne detention facility reported (A P) — T housands o f m entally the issue w here W axm an w as testi K ing ly in g in the alle y b etw een K ing su ffered m ultiple g u nshot holding a 7 -y ear-o ld ch ild w ho w as have seen Prasad-K ing, o r know s I ill youth are unnecessarily put in fying along w ith experts on mental N orth M ason and N o rth S h av er, w ounds and later died as a result. w hat he w as doing, the night be- ( aw aiting m ental health treatm ent, juvenile detention centers to aw ait health law, youth behavior and ju j u s t w e st o f M ic h ig a n . S h e T his occurred on a cold, otherw ise w hile 117 facilities w ere holding fore he w as killed. m ental health treatm ent, a H ouse venile detention. children 10 years old and younger. com m ittee reported. The report identified 698 ju v e Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward o f up to $1,000fo r information, reported to Crime Stoppers, $100 m illion is spent y early to C enters usually are not equipped nile detentionfacilities in the United that leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolved felony crime, any you need not give your name. Call house youths w aiting for health to treat m ental illness, and in som e States, defined as correctional fa Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP. services. cases the youth« have n o t been cilities holding people age 21 and charged w ith a crim e, said the re y ounger aw aiting charges or trial or port by d ie D em ocratic sta ff o f the recently tried. S eventy-five percent H ouse G overnm ent R eform C o m o f the facilities, o r 524, responded Michael E. Harper, Sr. mittee. to the survey, including facilities Agent “T h e u se o f ju v e n ile detention from ev ery state but N ew H am p facilitiesto h o u sey o u th Waiting for sh ire. T h e su rv e y c o v e re d six Let Us S atisfy Your M usical N eed s’ Crime Stoppers Seek Public Help Dispute at Car Show Turns Deadly Public Help Sought for Unsolved Murder Mentally 111 Teens Housed in Jail Thousands of kids await care in detention centers c o m m u n ity mental health services it w id e s p re a d and a serious national prob lem ,” said the — _ 31- __________________ ---------------- months. Jan 1.2003, to June 3 0 ,2 0 0 3 . T h e re p o rt did n o t attem pt to d e te r m in e w h y so m any you th s w ho needed m e n ta l h e a lth tr e a tm e n t w ere b eing p u t in 1 ju v e n ile detention — ■ but said adm inistru to rs blam ed the lack o f oth er treat m ent facilities. O ne d etention center adm inis trator from L ou isian a w rote, “W e ap p ear to be w arehousing youths w ith m ental illnesses due to lack o f m ental health services.” A m ong the rep o rt’s findings: In 33 states, m entally ill youths w ere being held in detention cen ters w ith no ch arg es against them. O ver the six -m onth period o f the study, n early 15,000 you th s spent tim e in juvenile detention while they waited for mental health help. Nearly 2,000 youths are in detention w ait ing for m ental health services every night, representing about 7 percent o f all ju v en iles being held. Y ouths w ho are w aiting for m en In 33 states, mentally ill youths were being held in detention centers with no charges against them. A report, w hich fo u n d that tw o-thirds o f juveniledeten- tion facilities hold youths who are w aitingfor mental health treatment. “T his m isuse o f d etention ce n ters as holding areas for m ental health treatm ent is u nfair to youth, underm ines th eir health, disrupts the function o f detention centers and is costly to so ciety .” The report, w hich its authors said w as the first national study o f its kind, w as prepared at the re quest o f C alifo rn ia Rep. H enry W axm an, the H ouse G overnm ent R eform C om m ittee's top D em ocrat, and Sen. S usan C ollins, R -M aine, chairw om an o f the Senate G o v ern m ental A ffairs Com m ittee. "Thousands o f youth w ho are in need o f com m unity mental health services are stuck in jail until these • S ong W riting & A rranging • Production •R e c o rd in g • C onsulting f M usic T racks B eats M usic for S pecial E vents L essons & m ore... 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