To help give the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and the people who live, work and visit Multnomah County a better understanding of our recent performance and our blueprint for the future, I am tendering this supplementary budget report.

This report will give the reader a better understanding of some of the policies, objectives and the accomplishments this office has seen in recent years: addressing youth justice, reducing racial and ethnic disparities and supporting and prioritizing services to crime victims. The report will also give the reader a look at some of the programs developed, supported and widely recognized as successful models at reducing crime recidivism.

We are an office of 74 attorneys and 125 support staff. On paper, we look like a traditional law office. The report, however, will help highlight the talent, diversity, expertise and respect the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) commands through its employment practices. We will also examine our recent successes with post-conviction matters, our cooperating witness protocol, material witnesses, and our requirement to disclose information to defendants during the pendency of their criminal cases.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office strives to provide fair, equitable and unbiased services. We are proud of the work we do.  I want to highlight the success we see each day, month and year. These achievements include the story of a mother who could have been sentenced to prison for stealing thousands of dollars from a local grocery store as part of an organized retail theft operation. This mother was stealing in the throes of drug addiction. When she was arrested, she accessed treatment and secured a job before her first judicial settlement conference. She worked closely with the Oregon Department of Human Services to re-gain custody of her child. At the time of sentencing, the woman could have faced years in prison following a conviction on multiple counts of theft. Instead, she was selected by my office to participate in the Multnomah County Justice Reinvestment Program, a program that was created to reduce prison usage. She was provided treatment and probation and services instead of a prison term.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is happy to have this deeper discussion as we work collaboratively with our criminal justice system partners to effect positive change by looking at and developing new and innovative programs to be responsive to the needs of our community.

Sincerely,

Rod Underhill

District Attorney, Multnomah County

Click here to read the supplementary budget report