Multnomah County DA lobbies hard for retail theft budget
Portland Police said this large mission stretched from the Eastport Plaza in Southeast Portland to downtown, and up to Jantzen Beach. Along with the thousands in stolen property recovered, police seized two guns and a stolen car. PPB's Central Precinct Commander Brian Hughes said operations like these are about more than just safety in the stores.
'It has a ripple effect on prices, public safety, and neighborhood quality of life,' he said. 'These missions are part of our broader strategy to address crime and restore a sense of safety across Portland. And I think that's one of the things we did last Friday.'
A grant from the helps fund these operations in the city of Portland. Hughes said the real difference maker is having a prosecutor and investigator from the DA's office on-site with them for these missions.
'They work with us in real time on these cases as they're moving forward, which is so helpful when officers have legal questions,' he said. 'There's a DA front and center ready to answer those questions and enables us to be more effective in the work that we do.'
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Looming budget cuts means uncertainty for the District Attorney's office. DA Nathan Vasquez has said proposed cuts to his office would mean losing a prosecutor dedicated to focusing on retail theft.
'You're not going to see the very coordinated, organized effort, at least from our offices, ability to do that. You're going to see gaps, and there are going to be people that fall through the cracks,' Vasquez said. 'And that's what I'm fighting every day, is to make sure that we are holding people accountable, particularly the ones that are having a large impact on our community.'
When the budget was first released in late April, Vasquez wasted no time voicing his displeasure. At the time, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a statement that cuts to his office were some of the smallest in the county, and that
The cuts come from a decision to not renew one-time funding. But Vasquez said the programs the money has gone towards are not one-time projects.
'It's really a need for an ongoing effort,' he said. 'You can't just hope that you stand up something and organize it, which we've done a tremendous job in that short period of time. But there's a lot more work to be done. And now's not the time to take our foot off the gas. We really need to continue fighting.'
Vasquez said the work his office has done has shown that funding should be permanent, and he has provided information to county commissioners. The deadline to approve the county budget is June 12.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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