Amidst the shifting sands of Oregon's drug policy landscape, Clackamas County finds itself at a legislative crossroads. The county is preparing its inventory of resources to meet the demands of a new state law recriminalizing possession of small amounts of illegal drugs—set to take effect on September 1. However, unlike its neighbor, Multnomah County, Clackamas has been denied state funding crucial for the implementation of a deflection program that aims to lead drug users towards treatment, rather than prison, as reported by KOIN.
Committed to the cause, Clackamas County officials are now vigorously pushing to have their deflection program approved. Their objective seems to not simply dodge around the lack of funding, but to redefine and reinstate a support system for drug offenders who could benefit from early intervention. According to John Wentworth, a notable figure in the debate, the plan roused some concerns during an August 1 grant review committee meeting. Members mistook the program's structure for diversion rather than deflection,—a tricky distinction that Wentworth clarified in an interview with KATU.
Wentworth underscored the difference: "When a police officer encounters someone on the street and they have an opportunity to cite them, they have to have a place to cite them to and for us that is our community court," he said, pointing out that this early interjection point separates deflection from the typical diversion methods. The key to this program is timing; it offers an alternative to offenders before charges are filed, a pre-emptive strike to deter futures marred by legal woes.
However, the matters of budget and authority also raised eyebrows. The grant review committee expressed concerns that the District Attorney's Office—which would be in the driver's seat to decide program eligibility—might wield their power too broadly. Financially, the issue is equally as pressing. The committee hesitated to fully embrace a program where nearly half of the potential $950,509 budget was earmarked for salaries within the DA's office. Wentworth reminisced, "Remember, we started deflection before deflection was cool, so the subject matter expert of that process happens to work in my office; he is the subject matter expert on melding law enforcement and public health," in his conversation with KATU. His stance stays firm in the resolve to revive a deflection program that was shelved in response to Measure 110, with the intent to once again meld law enforcement with public health.
