Portland merchants are optimistic about the new anti-auto and anti-retail theft task groups that have just been announced. Ragan VanSise, the proprietor of Ragan’s Boutique, claims that she has experienced a wide variety of cr!minal activities in the over five years since she opened her shop.
Vansise discovered a broken storefront door in September of last year. According to what she observed on the CCTV footage she saw later, someone broke in and st0le some clothing, jewelry, and purses.
The formation of these task groups was announced on Monday, May 01, giving her hope for the future.“I’m hopeful. It gives me hope. I’ve been open for five-and-a-half years, and the cr!me has gotten worse and worse and worse. Nothing is being done. At least they’re going to do something or at least try,” VanSise said.
She claims that several local shops have just shut down. “They’re very frustrated. That’s why they’re closing,” she said. “It’s frustrating.” It’s unclear whether or not these @rrests will result in successful charges due to a lack of public attorneys in Multnomah County.
Here’s the latest on what’s been happening in Portland:
- Portland Police Cited Over 20 Street Racers and Arrested 5.
- Service Suspended by Oregon Transit District Indefinitely.
“The crisis of not having enough public defenders has hit us hard. It hits us particularly hard in these C felonies, property crime cases,” Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said. “The key ingredient of having a DDA focus full time on this is we can focus on the most prolific individuals.”
Schmidt expressed fear that some of these auto theft cases would be dismissed. “We have seen st0len cars run into having no public defender, and those cases are ultimately dropped,” he said.
VanSise is optimistic that, despite the ongoing problems, this is the beginning of brighter times for company owners. “I can’t tell you how many days I felt like giving up, and this has been a dream of mine for a long time,” she added.
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