COMMENTARY | Andy Ko, director of Partnership for Safety and Justice, aims to apply a philosophy of his work to the presidential election “People are more than the worst thing they have done or the worst thing that has been done to them.” We say that qui ...
16 Feb 2017 - Andy Ko
COMMENTARY | Instead of 2nd women's prison, Oregon can invest in other efforts to strengthen families, communities The 2017 presidential election and the uncertainty it’s caused make it imperative that we work in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, ...
19 Jan 2017 - Shannon Wight
COMMENTARY | Trump's AG pick threatens progress in shrinking prison populations As I write this column, it’s been less than 48 hours since Donald Trump announced Sen. Jeff Sessions as his choice for attorney general. My chest tightens and tears fill ...
1 Dec 2016 - Shannon Wight
COMMENTARY | We're ready for a new vision for public safety and justice The war on drugs is over! How many times over the past 25 years have I wished I could say that, just to know how it would feel to have one of America’s most tragic experiments wi ...
3 Nov 2016 - Andy Ko
COMMENTARY | Expanded incarceration disregards people’s potential, magnifies disparities When the vast majority of incarcerated women battle addiction, are victims of assault or have mental health diagnoses, criminal justice can be squarely classified as ...
22 Sep 2016 - Talia Gad
COMMENTARY | Prosecutors, legislators have power to choose how to better spend $10M on women convicted of crime At the end of September, the Emergency Board of the Oregon State Legislature will consider a request from the Department of Corrections for nea ...
18 Aug 2016 - Shannon Wight
COMMENTARY | How can we eliminate presumption that law enforcement involves application of superior force? A wise friend of mine once gave me advice on coping with a paralyzing sense of helplessness. Gordon said, “Find a starting point that seems right to ...
21 Jul 2016 - Andy Ko
COMMENTARY | ‘Get tough’ response to crime has devastating consequences In 2011, Partnership for Safety and Justice and the Campaign for Youth Justice published “Misguided Measures.” We examined Oregon’s Ballot Measure 11 (1994) and how, by exposing youth ...
4 Apr 2016 - Andy Ko
Oregon is one of 15 states where prosecutors alone can decide whether to try a youth as an adult — and it’s happening to black and Latino teens disproportionately When administrators summoned 15-year-old Keeshawn Bullitt to the main office at Grant High S ...
4 Apr 2016 - Emily Green
COMMENTARY | Justice is a process with a purpose Long before coming to Oregon, I watched with fascination the evolution of what eventually became Partnership for Safety and Justice. I remember thinking, “What a brilliant name! Finally, a policy reform or ...
4 Feb 2016 - Andy Ko