Safety and Savings Act News

Some "Smart on Crime" Reforms that are Working
Necessitated by harsh economic times and encouraged by declines in crime rates, a number of states have made significant strides in reducing the number of people in prisons and jails and cutting spending while maintaining public safety.
Opening Doors to Safety and Support: Domestic Violence and Child Welfare Collaboration
At Partnership for Safety and Justice, we advocate for crime victims and survivors to have access to services that provide safety and help survivors rebuild their lives. But what happens when those adult survivors have children who have witnessed the violence?
Oregon's Political Landscape
Start to the sentencing reform discussions. Went back over the 2009 Safety and Savings Act. The ugly and misleading political ads that ran around Measure 57.
Considerable Common Ground: Collaborating to Create Safety
Crime Victims and Survivors want to ensure that what happened to them does not happen to another. We discuss the opposition of Measure 73 and what PSJ brought forth to the legislative session in support of Alternative ways to increase public safety.
Oregon's 2011 Legislative Session Wrap-Up
In early 2011 we participated in the Legislation Sessions. We had VICTORY'S : HB 2707, ODSVS, HEAL Oregon help maintain funding for Addiction Treatment, and HB 2650: Addiction & Mental Health Workers w/Conviction histories return to work
Oregon taxpayers will spend $1.3 billion on prisons -- and it won't be enough
Oregon is spending more money than ever on the state prison system, but it won't be enough. And the state will be adding nearly 1,500 prisoners over the next four years. PSJ thinks spending more on prison cells while cutting programs that can prevent crime is the wrong approach.
Johnson tells governor: get with it
Sen. Betsy Johnson says that incoming governor John Kitzhaber faces many challenges, including the fact that "we're spending too little on education while locking up people that shouldn't be in prison," adding that there may be a "big push" to roll back Measure 11. (Daily Astorian)
Rethinking Public Safety Spending Strategies
PSJ's Associate Director Shannon Wight asks: At what point will this country's expensive experiment with mass incarceration end? Her answer: We have reached the tipping point; we must focus on real public safety now and not mass incarceration at any cost.
FBI says crime in Oregon's four largest cities fell last year
"It's time for our policies to match the reality of our times. Oregonians are safer than they were two years ago, without the millions it would have cost to fully implement Measure 57." (Oregonian)
2010 Legislative Wrap-Up
We knew the 2010 February legislative session would present some serious challenges—challenges that were being shaped as 2009’s legislative session wound down. Our work during the session focused almost exclusively on preventing repeal of the earned time provision of the 2009 Safety and Savings Act.