Interesting to me to see the City hold it's own citizens hostage.

Project 57 (named because of the number of beds it theoretically funds) was created by the City about two years ago (if memory serves) to create a place to put primarily drug and prostitution offenders (and Drug-Free and Prostitution-Free Zone offenders) somewhere to guarantee that they wouldn't get turnstile justice and to help remove them from the streets.

It was originally intended for Portland-area offenders only, and that explains the City's funding. It ended up working to benefit Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, and unincorporated County, however, because of equal protection concerns.

All that said, the primary benefit was to the City. And, by threatening to defund the beds, the City was basically offering to cut off its own nose to spite its face.

However, given that Hooper is actually designed for use by the whole county and all of it's annoyingly inebriated (like P57, police in Multnomah County's other cities use Hooper because it's the only detox facility in the area), I'd think that the County should continue to fund it exclusively. Given that the county's money comes, chiefly, from Portland residents, I don't see any very legitimate policy reason for trying to shove its funding off on the City.

No, we're not getting high drama from over there-no Wagnerian opera-but what we're getting is more like elevator music:you need a reason to notice it, but its hardly good government.

I am chagrined that Ted made getting to the bottom of problems at Multnomah County Animal Services a plank in his campaign platform, but now is doing nothing. What I would like to say to him is that the fact he ought to take an objective look at the record, rather than believe what staff spreads about anyone who criticizes the place being "unbalanced". Multnomah County, heck, the whole Oregon government, needs people who are savvy enough to understand the dynamics of corrupt practices.

Ooops! Edit: omit "the fact".

Actually, I think all police agencies are welcome to use Hooper. I am often in line behind Beaverton, Washington county, or even Wilsonville coppers. In my opinion, Hooper is a godsend. I take more folks there than I do to jail by a mile.

Ted appears to be all about the job and not about the politics. What a refreshing change for our sector of the universe!

Maybe the meth addicts who are using my name/account numbers to generate fake payroll checks will be eligible for P57?

The investigating officer said they are likely to get probation, even if they are prosecuted by the DA (which is a low priority given the overcrowded jail).

They've only stolen $20,000 or so, so I guess nobody has been harmed.

Tee:

Assuming they're prosecuted for ID Theft, the sentence depends entirely on their criminal history. Last time I was in the know, you had supervised probation for ID Theft (which is a felony) until you qualified for Repeat Property Offender status, which automatically bumps you up to prison time (13 to 26 months, depending on whether you meet certain aggravating factors for sentencing purposes). RPO status is determined based on history of engaging in a variety of property offenses, including Theft I or II, Forgery I or II, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument I or II, Unlawful Use (or Possession) of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, ID Theft, and some other offenses.

If ID Theft can't be proven, they'd likely be on the hook for forgery II or CPFI II. Both of these are class A misdemeanors. In that case, unless they have pretty egregious histories, they are looking at 3-5 years of court probation (which means no probation officer and very little oversight). Of course, given the occasional "matrix" sprees by the Sheriff's office, jail isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. A year in jail doesn't really mean a year in jail if the sheriff needs your bed to house a person being held for a murder prosecution or something.

Regardless, sad to hear about your info being stolen, and good luck. Here's some good info at the DA's Office website on things to do to start cleaning up the mess: http://mcda.us/va/faq.php#470.

THX Rusty. One (of two) prime suspects is a tweaker who has already lost custody of her 5 year old. If that isn't a wake-up call, I doubt her P.O./Judge is going to scare her away from the next offense.

Maybe she'll rat out the brains of the operation (who's been photographed by local grocery store security cams for the last three months).

IMO, Society will continue to be victimized by pond scum until we decide to start skimming the pool with greater frequency and fervor.