FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury report released

Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced the release of the 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury report.

“This report is critically important as it provides us, and our system partners, with a deeper understanding of what must be done to continuously improve the condition and management of the four correctional facilities housed in our jurisdiction,” said Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill. “This report highlights the pre-trial programs that divert people to treatment instead of jail incarceration. I want to express my deep gratitude to the seven community members who served on this grand jury. Their report gives all of us in the criminal justice system understanding of the state of the correctional facilities in Multnomah County.”

Under Oregon law, at least once yearly, a Corrections Grand Jury shall convene to review the condition and management of every correctional facility and youth correctional facility in each Oregon county.

“The consistent theme and biggest challenge across all facilities and stated by nearly all stakeholders is the mental health crisis. The majority of inmates in the system increasingly have chronic mental health issues, medication needs, and/or substance abuse issues. All stakeholders agreed that jails are not the appropriate location for most of this population, and many should actually be in a clinical setting,” the 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury Executive Summary states in part.

• Click here to review the full Executive Summary to the 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury report.

Mental Health, pre-trial diversion programs, staffing, capacity concerns and emergency population release were the five areas of particular importance for the 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury and were subsequently identified in the report as key findings.

The 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury was provided access to more than 50 witnesses, any applicable public record that they requested and on-site visits to the following locations: 

• Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC)
• Multnomah Country Inverness Jail (MCIJ)
• Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center (DEL)
• Columbia River Correctional Institution (CRCI)

To read a copy of the entire 2018 Multnomah County Corrections Grand Jury report, please click here.  

#MCDA#

Contact: Brent Weisberg, Communications Director

Phone: 503.988.6567

Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us