Lane County’s criminal justice system is in dire need of more funding. There are too many criminals in Lane County and not enough money to prevent crimes, to prosecute criminals or to keep the convicted in jail.
The system is stuck. Years ago, a measure passed in Oregon that put a cap on the amount property taxes allowed for only a 3 percent annual increase. At the time, Lane County’s property taxes were already lower than most areas of the state because the robust timber industry was contributing hefty amounts of taxes to Lane County’s General Fund, which in part funds the criminal justice system. The industry’s eventual decline left a gaping hole in the county’s ability to fund public safety. While operating costs of running Lane County’s justice system were inflating by 6 percent per year, the county was only able to increase property taxes by 3 percent. To reconcile the lack of revenue, public safety programs had to be cut during 12 out of the last 15 years.
Lane County ballot Measure 20-114, which would establish only the second county income tax in the state of Oregon, would alleviate the tremendous shortcomings of the Lane County Criminal Justice System and would help to bring a greater sense of justice to this county. It would pump a much needed $27 million per year into preventing and dealing with criminal activity.
It’s been no secret how under-funded the public safety system is in Lane County. A September report by the Public Safety Coordinating Council, a regional advisory council for the Board of County Commissions composed of 35 Lane County residents, including the Cottage Grove Police Chief Mike Grover and the Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad, found that Lane County failed in its ability to adequately prosecute and keep criminals in jail.
Since 1980, the District Attorney’s Office’s prosecution staff has been reduced by 30 percent while its total caseload has doubled. Prosecutors in Lane County are often burdened by case loads twice the size that their counterparts in other counties manage.
Prosecution isn’t the only area that’s suffering. There are currently 96 jail beds left unused because of a lack of funding, and 3,700 inmates were released from jail there were 3,700 early releases from jail in 2005. About 11 inmates are being released per day, many of whom have yet to be prosecuted. The number of defendants who fail to appear in court has risen by 40 percent since 2002.
About 200 property crimes were reported to the Sheriff’s Office each month in 2005, but because Lane County only has one detective, only about 10 percent of those reports were investigated. Lane County has more auto thefts per capita than 93 percent of similar counties nationwide.
But the faulty justice system is not a result of poor management of funds in the police departments or Sheriff’s offices; the Public Safety Coordinating Council’s report found that Lane County justice has made the most of what it had.
Law enforcement’s rate of arrests per reported crime is higher than other areas of the U.S., yet the number of actual police officers per 1,000 population is lower than the Oregon and national averages.
The cause of this problem can be traced simply to the lack of funding Lane County Justice System receives. To solve this problem and to ensure denizens are kept safe, we encourage voters to approve Lane County ballot Measure 20-114.