Public Safety in Oregon
Oregon
- January 14, 2013
- Public Safety Performance Project
- Contact Krissi Jimroglou 202.540.6416
Public Safety Performance Project > State Work > Oregon
Oregon’s prison population has more than quadrupled over the past 30 years, and since 2000 the state’s imprisonment rate has risen more than three times faster than the national average. Biennial corrections spending now exceeds $1.3 billion. Without action by the legislature, Oregon’s inmate count is projected to grow by 2,300—mostly in nonviolent offenders—at a cost to taxpayers of an additional $600 million. As prisons consume a growing share of Oregon’s public safety budget, many local programs with a proven track record of preventing crime are suffering from budget shortages.
“[A]s the facts demonstrate, our prison population is growing, primarily with lower-risk drug and property offenders, and this growth is threatening our balanced portfolio at the expense of prevention, supervision and rehabilitation. We can and must do better. If we use research, sound data and good judgment to put us back on track, we can achieve more public safety at less taxpayer expense.” Commision on Public Safety Meeting September 24, 2012
-Commission Chair Justice Paul J. De Muniz
In order to get Oregon a better return on its public safety investments, state officials launched a bipartisan, inter-branch working group to develop a set of data-driven, evidence-based policy options. The Commission on Public Safety, established by Governor John Kitzhaber, included representatives from all three branches of government and other criminal justice stakeholders. The working group received technical assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts as it conducted a thorough analysis of the state’s sentencing and corrections trends and policies. The Commission used Oregon’s data, the growing body of national research about what works in corrections, and examples of successful innovations from states across the country to generate policy recommendations to control costs, hold offenders accountable, and break the cycle of recidivism.
Legislative leaders formed a bipartisan Special Joint Committee on Public Safety to consider the policy options during the 2013 session of the state Legislative Assembly.
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Analysis | April 3, 2012 |
Fact Sheet | March 2, 2009 |
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Media Coverage | April 25, 2013 |
Media Coverage | December 19, 2012 |
Media Coverage | December 5, 2012 |
Media Coverage | October 28, 2012 |
Media Coverage | September 23, 2012 |
Media Coverage | May 16, 2012 |
Media Coverage | May 14, 2012 |
Media Coverage | May 14, 2012 |
- Date:
- January 14, 2013
- Contact:
- Krissi Jimroglou | 202.540.6416
- Project:
- Public Safety Performance Project
- Issues:
- Public Safety
- State:
- Oregon
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