With the May 17 election, many Oregonians will have the opportunity to vote for elected leaders at the city and county levels - from city and county commissioners to sheriffs.
This is an opportunity for voters to let our elected officials know that status quo approaches to public safety - more police and more funding for police - has not made our communities safer nor has it solved our most pressing issues. Instead, we continue to sink billions of tax dollars per year into mass incarceration. We need smarter approaches.
Voters can champion civil liberties and civil rights by supporting leaders and initiatives who invest in our communities, instead of those who simply support more police and police funding.
How much are local communities spending on policing?
The following are a few (of many) examples:
- For the past several five fiscal years, the Portland Police Department’s annual budget has been more than $220 million dollars. According to the Vera Institute, in 2020 Portland spent approximately 31% of city funds on policing.
- For the past several years, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s budget has been approximately $160 million or more.
- On the May 17 ballot, the resort community of Sunriver is requesting a $7 million levy for its public safety building and the city of Redmond is requesting a $40 million bond measure to build a new police headquarters.
What has decades of continuous increases to police spending meant for the State of Oregon?
- Currently there are more than 80,000 Oregonians behind bars or in criminal justice supervision, and our state’s incarceration rate is 555 per 100,000 people. In comparison, the incarceration rates for countries like the United Kingdom and Canada are, respectively, 129 and 104 per 100,000 people.
- The cost of operating Oregon’s state prison system is a whopping 1 billion dollars per year. This doesn’t include the costs of Oregon’s county jails, police and sheriff’s departments, DA’s offices, public defenders, and courts, which add up to well over an additional 1 billion dollars per year.
- Oregon communities will continue to be stuck in the same place if we keep electing officials who perpetuate systems of mass criminalization and incarceration that are decimating communities of color and low-income and houseless communities. Instead, we need elected leaders who will prioritize police accountability, community-oriented solutions to public safety like Portland Street Response, and public health approaches to mental health and drug abuse.
Voters can champion civil liberties and civil rights by supporting leaders and initiatives who invest in our communities, instead of those who simply support more police and police funding.
The ACLU of Oregon (c4 organization) and ACLU Foundation of Oregon (c3 organization) do not endorse specific parties or candidates for office. We may participate in activities related to voter and public education about candidates and issues.
