PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Monday they’re adding 2 deputy district attorney positions to work on the new task forces targeting organized retail theft and auto theft.
Schmidt was joined at the Monday press conference by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, Portland Business Alliance CEO Andrew Hoan and PPB Chief Chuck Lovell.
The DA said the money for the 2 new deputy district attorney positions is coming from Multnomah County and the City of Portland is contributing money for 2 investigators and a legal assistant.
From 2019 through 2022, auto thefts in the area rose 68%, with 2022 setting an all-time record for theft, Schmidt said.
A number of cases have been dropped by the courts due to a lack of public defenders. Schmidt said adding staff will help lead to successful prosecutions.
“The crisis of not having enough public defenders has hit us hard. It hits us particularly hard in these C- felonies, property crime cases,” Schmidt said. “The key ingredient of having a DDA focus full-time on this is we can focus on individuals who are the most prolific.”
But the chance of getting cases dropped will remain a concern.
“It’s a concern. We have seen stolen cars run into having no public defender and those cases are ultimately dropped,” he said.
Lovell was the only leader at the press conference who responded to a question about why these type of crimes are up so much.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” the chief said. “Throughout the pandemic, the courts were backed up. A lot of things that play into it.”
The task forces will be led by the district attorney’s office in partnership with the Portland Police Bureau.
‘This partnership is critical’
In an interview with KOIN 6 News’ Eye on Northwest Politics on Sunday, Portland Police Association President Aaron Schmautz emphasized the importance of the agencies working together on these theft task forces.
“The district attorney’s office is a huge cog in this wheel of justice that we have. At the police bureau, it’s our job to get people who commit crimes, to write good reports and bring them to that system,” Schmautz said. “This partnership is critical and the breaking down of it led to less good work, so I’m happy with the partnership.”
The creation of the task forces comes after several businesses have announced plans to leave their Portland locations due to break-ins and vandalism. Recently, REI announced it will shut down its Pearl District location, citing its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades in addition to outgrowing the space.
In a statement to KOIN 6 News in late April, Mayor Wheeler’s office said in part, “community safety continues to be a top priority for Mayor Wheeler and his team. We’re working with our public safety partners to increase staffing at the Portland Police Bureau so they can ramp up patrols, car theft and vandalism missions, respond more quickly to emergency calls, and bring those involved with crime to justice.”
The mayor also attributed an increase of crime and violence to the lack of mental and behavioral health resources along with the slow rollout of funds attached to Measure 110, which decriminalized some drugs.