This week U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez announced the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division would be opening a broader inquiry into the Portland Police Department. The investigation is to determine whether or not there is a pattern of civil rights abuses within the city by the local police. The announcement comes after the urging by many high powered local officials. [read more...]

The Oregon Supreme Court is in the midst of a case that questions the role or impact of medical marijuana use on the right to bear a firearm. Four plaintiffs are before the court, all of which receive medical marijuana via prescription and all of which are also licensed to carry a concealed weapon. [read more...]

Measure 11, a bill passed in 1994, sought to bring harsher punishments to criminals in an attempt to keep the public safe and appear tough on crime. It did that, increasing incarceration rates across the state. But a new report questions if the effects of Measure 11 are as intended or if it has done more harm than good. [read more...]

An article in this week’s Oregonian takes a hard look at the fear of crime versus the reality of crime and begs an important question—how can people statewide fear crime more than ever despite actual crime numbers falling? [read more...]

There aren’t many community treatment options available when it comes to the relatively poor and mentally ill in Oregon. Often, they end up seeing prison as one of the few options available to them, prison or the state mental hospital where more than 65% of patients are there after being found guilty except for insanity, according to this Oregonian article. [read more...]

Last year there were six police shootings—four of them resulted in civilian deaths. So far in 2011, there have been two police shootings. In the final weeks of 2010 and the first days in January, there was a record set for the most officer involved shootings in a short amount of time (5 in 40 days). Not a record to be proud of, for sure. [read more...]

With the recent arrest by the FBI of terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud the nation has been abuzz with talks of “entrapment”. Did the FBI push the Somali born man to take terrorist action or were they simply doing their job? [read more...]

Portland City Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade ordered a review of the city police’s taser use and the finding suggest officers should practice more restraint. According to OregonLive.com, policy should be changed to reflect such restraint and the necessity of officers to use a minimum number of cycles when the tasers are employed. [read more...]

Measure 73 was up for debate this past week in the Legislature. The measure would stiffen penalties for both sex offenders and drunk drivers. Support for the measure is low, however, given the cost and the current financial climate. [read more...]

Although state law in Oregon now allows for the use of marijuana, when approved by a physician, in many medical conditions, the state’s high court ruled last week that employers do not have to cater to those people with medical marijuana authorization if their use violates a workplace policy.

The ruling overturns a decision by the Bureau of Labor and Industries and a following affirmation by the Oregon Court of Appeals. What affect this has on employees and states across the country remains to be seen. [read more...]