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SENATE BILL 95
EXPANDING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION
This bill would expand the membership of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission from 9 to 15 members. We will leave aside the question of what this commission does and how useful it is, and assume that what it does do is useful and worthy of doing. Our question is why, in expanding the membership of this commission, we can’t be a bit more creative. As it is, the commission includes only, ahemmmm, the usual suspects.
Why include only representatives of the “agencies, entities and officials involved in the criminal justice system?“ Why not include a former convict who is now serving the public interest by providing “scared straight” or similar education to the public, youth, youth offenders, first offenders and the like? Why not include one jail manager, warden, or other jail worker? Why not include an officer involved expressly in fighting methamphetamine and/or narcotics? Why not include a person who has organized a local citizen patrol? Why not a representative, for that matter, of the criminal defense bar, or someone from the Public Defenders office?
Maybe such folk already are members of this commission. Maybe not, we have to admit, we don’t know. But we see nothing in the existing statute to mandate or even encourage this broader base of ideas, criticism and experience.
The point is not that there is anything wrong with including on such a commission people who serve in the agencies, etc. of the criminal justice system. But they are not the only people with knowledge of, and potentially ideas about, that system and how to improve it.
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