Multnomah Bias Crime Dashboard Tracks Nearly 3 Years Of Attacks

Portland OR

09 February, 2022

5:06 PM

Description

PORTLAND, OR — One hundred and sixteen, 202, and 108. That's the tally of bias crimes, victims and defendants in Multnomah County from July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2021, according to a new dashboard posted by District Attorney Mike Schmidt. "The Bias Crime data dashboard is intended to stand in stark opposition to acts of hate while providing a practical tool for policymakers, leaders, and the communities most impacted by bias crimes," Schmidt said. "Data collection and tracking is just as much a reflection of our values as it is a science. Part of this work is educating the prevalence of discrimination in our community." The data shows that the majority of the victims – 71 people – were Black while the majority of bias crimes were focused on a person's race or color. The other bias crimes involved issue of sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity religion, and disability. A majority of the defendants (79) were white and mal (91 percent). Most of the defendants (73) were between 26-years and 55-years-old while the majority of victims (107) were between ages 18 and 45. Of the 116 cases brought to the D.A.'s office, only 103 resulted in charges being issues; nine of them were rejected and four are still pending. Of the nine dismissed cases, seven were because of insufficient evidence. Schmidt says that 24 of the cases resulted in guilty pleas. Of those sentenced, the majority (16) got probation. Only three were sentenced to jail, all for up to two years. A spokesperson for the Muslim Advisory Council, which consulted on the creation of the dashboard, praised the final result, saying, "for a long time, these experiences have been invisible. "Shining a light on bias crimes in Multnomah County not only validates the experiences of diverse communities, but it sends a message that hate will not be tolerated here."