Oregon imprisons African Americans at a higher rate than most other states

Oregon imprisons African Americans at a rate higher than most other states,

revealed this week.

For every 1,000 black residents, about 21 are in prison, the seventh-highest rate in the country. Oregon's rate is nearly double Washington's and 46 percent higher than the national average.

The study from the national nonprofit Sentencing Project, mined data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. It found African Americans make up more than 9 percent of Oregon's prison population, though they comprise only 1.8 percent of the state's general population. One of every 21 black men in Oregon is in prison.

The report follows an unrelated February

. Both studies confirm what communities of color have known for a long time, said Bobbin Singh, executive director of the

.

"It's horrifying," Singh said. "As Oregonians, we should be embarrassed by this and working hard to transform our criminal justice system so that it's fair and transparent. When you have racial disparities that exist at both the county and state level, the perception of our criminal justice system is it's discriminatory. And if you have a discriminatory justice system, it's not going to be perceived as credible."

There's no clear reason why Oregon has such a high rate, Singh said. Socioeconomic issues, and implicit and explicit racial bias likely all contribute.

The Multnomah County study, part of the MacArthur Foundation's national Safety & Justice Challenge, suggested blacks face discrimination in every aspect of the criminal justice system -- from when they're first stopped all the way through their time in court.

That report found that blacks in Multnomah County are 4.2 times more likely to be referred to the district attorney's office for a case review and 4.1 times more likely to have a case accepted for prosecution. While blacks make up only 5 percent of the county's population overall, they represent 27 percent of its jail population.

Together, the reports "should spark outrage and a sense of urgency among elected leaders," said David Rogers, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

"I'm a little afraid that people may becoming desensitized to the disturbing news of institutional racism in the criminal justice system," Rogers said. "I'm left to wonder, are we actually doomed to continue the cycle? All the data in the world won't fix a lack of political will. We need more of that -- in a bad way."

Multnomah County received a $150,000 grant last year from the MacArthur Foundation to create a fairer jail system.

Tackling the problem statewide will take a widespread approach, reform advocates said.

Studies like the one from the Sentencing Project are good for instigating conversations, advocates said. But they also say they need more information to understand what leads African Americans to prison in the first place.

State lawmakers, Singh said, should require every major Oregon county to match Multnomah County's analysis of its criminal justice system. Rogers said police agencies across the state should follow Portland's lead and publish data about the race of the people officers stop.

And both said district attorneys and their offices need to become more transparent.

"The district attorney is the most powerful actor in our system," Singh said. "They decide whether to charge someone with a crime and those charges are, to dismiss a case, to negotiate a plea or go to trial. That's where we need to focus our attention. It's an elected position, so we can ask district attorneys to implement policies to help drive down disparities."

In Multnomah County,

said his office is trying several approaches.

After the February report, Underhill instituted mandatory, annual equity and diversity trainings for his staff. His attorneys also have attended continuing education classes on implicit bias and equity.

"Will that help my deputies to be more aware? I sure hope so. I want to be better," Underhill said. "But this isn't a one-off, you do this and you're done. You have to be creative."

Earlier this month, he announced his office will no longer automatically prosecute teenagers in adult court for some Measure 11 crimes.

Underhill is also helping start a $1 million county-funded program that will send drug users to treatment rather than jail. A

found that blacks were disproportionately arrested downtown for drug-use and prostitution offenses.

"We're going to divert them before they ever go to jail," Underhill said. "When we send less people to prison, we're going to send less people of color to prison."

Statewide, Oregon has one tool, advocates said, that could help. In 2013, lawmakers gave themselves the power to ask for "racial impact" reports showing how proposed legislation and ballot measures might affect people of color.

Lawmakers have asked for the racial impact statements only four times, the state's senior research analyst said. Those bills concerned youth offenders and never made it out of committee.

What Oregon really needs if it hopes to address disparity, Rogers said, is a tool that examines how current laws are affecting people of color.

"It's about the system that's in place," Rogers said. "Fixing this problem will require more than looking forward. It will require us to look back at existing laws, at the system that is driving the disparity."

Until then, Rogers said, each imprisonment creates a new cycle of problems not yet forecast in the report.

"They are more likely to have challenges getting a job," Rogers said. "They're going to have a harder time accessing education, housing and a range of services. This disparity then creates the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Children with incarcerated parents are much less likely to finish school. They're going to have a lower family income. It's deeply, deeply troubling."

-- Casey Parks

503-221-8271

cparks@oregonian.com;