The three jails and one state prison inside Multnomah County’s borders are already strained, and an investigation into the conditions revealed the situation will likely get worse, according to a report released Dec. 3.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office released a report reviewing conditions at correctional facilities in Multnomah County. State law requires a grand jury to inspect the conditions and management of every facility, including juvenile facilities, and publish a report on its findings. In compliance with ORS 132.440, seven jurors spent five weeks touring the facilities and hearing testimony from staff involved in a broad range of roles, including the sheriff, district attorney, corrections health care directors, public defenders, financial managers and others.
The report found issues with facility maintenance, health care and staff to prisoner ratios, exacerbated by the ongoing statewide public defender crisis.
The jurors toured all four facilities located in Multnomah County, including the Multnomah County Detention Center, or MCDC; Inverness Jail; Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home; and the minimum-security state prison Columbia River Correctional Institution.
Staffing
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, or MCSO, experienced challenging years due to staffing shortages and deteriorating facilities, according to the report.
“The Multnomah County jail system is in crisis and at risk of jeopardizing public health and safety,” the report said.
The report follows a dramatic uptick in deaths in the county’s jails, including seven prisoners in 2023 — six in a matter of three months — and three prisoners in 2022. (Multnomah County refers to prisoners as “adults in custody,” or AICs.)
To an extent, the challenges center around the compounding effects of ongoing MCSO staffing shortages, but the report also noted a severe shortage of court-appointed attorneys for people charged with crimes as well, leading to a higher jail population and an untenable staff-to-prisoner ratio.
“It is nearing a crisis point that will further erode the morale of current employees, result in a poor standard of care for AICs, reduced AIC services, and negatively impact public safety,” the report said.
The corrections division faces the most acute challenges, as jails operate 24/7, according to the report. With the compounding public defender crisis leading to longer, sometimes unconstitutional holding times, the report said MCDC has reduced booking hours; extended lockdowns, requiring prisoners to spend further time in isolation; limited professional and social visiting hours; and delayed access to medical care.
“The corrections and law enforcement divisions are operating below minimum staffing levels; the department is struggling to meet the demands placed on it by the criminal justice system,” the report said.
Brianna Brown, the district attorney’s office interim communications director, said the district attorney is working closely with criminal justice stakeholders to ensure people released from custody due to capacity issues are those who pose the least risk to the community.
“People pending trial for murder and Ballot Measure 11 crimes, as well as those that have been preventatively detained by the court per ORS 135.240(4) for other violent felonies, will not be considered for release due to overpopulation,” Brown said.
Brown also said the criminal justice system’s lack of public defenders continues to be a challenge. When asked how the MCDA is preparing for further issues as the new District Attorney, Nathan Vasquez, who promised to prosecute low-level crimes when he takes office in January 2025, Brown did not speculate.
“While I cannot speak to any specifics on behalf of the next administration, our office will continue to request that the court order detention where appropriate,” Brown said.
Staffing challenges were mentioned in prior Corrections Grand Jury reports, but the 2024 report blamed county leadership for its failure to address the crisis, allowing it to snowball.
“Following testimony from stakeholders across the criminal justice system … we foresee unmanageable strains that will push the corrections system over the brink of operational capacity,” the report said. “All stakeholders must plan for the expected increase in AIC population.”
That’s due to an anticipated increase in pre-trial detentions in 2025 as a result of a new Presiding Judge Order which tightens restrictions on pretrial release for certain offenses.
Still, with increased penalties for possession of a controlled substance going into effect Sept. 1, the criminal justice system continues to add workload to an already strained system.
From Sept. 1 to Dec. 4, deputies booked 48 people into Multnomah County Jail for drug possession charges after refusing deflection services, according to John Plock, MCSO public information officer.
“One hundred percent of those were released with an average length of stay in jail of 11.2 hours and a median length of stay of 3.5 hours,” Plock said.
During that same time frame, Plock said 254 people were booked for drug possession in addition to other charges, making them ineligible for deflection.
Mike Benner, Portland Police Bureau, or PPB, public information officer, said preliminary numbers suggest PPB took at least 133 people to jail on possession of a controlled substance charges since Sept. 1.
“Please keep in mind those individuals could have gone to jail for one of a variety of reasons: they chose to go to jail, they had additional charges, a warrant or detainer, they were a danger to themselves or others, they weren’t eligible for deflection, the county said they couldn’t arrive in 30 minutes, or mobile deflection took over 30 minutes to arrive,” Benner said.
PPB policy allows officers to wait 30 minutes for a support specialist to offer recovery support before taking a person to jail.
Still, the report noted the risk of overdose is 10 times higher for those exiting incarceration than that of the general population.
“The risk of overdose is particularly heightened for women and people within their first two weeks after release,” the report said.
Infrastructure
The report also said the facilities themselves are rapidly deteriorating — with specific attention to MCDC in downtown Portland — leaving prisoners with inadequate access to mental health and substance abuse needs. MCDC houses MCSO and the PPB Central Precinct.
The report noted it previously raised alarm bells about maintenance issues in prior Corrections Grand Jury reports with little progress in addressing the issues. The Corrections Grand Jury remained concerned about outdated electrical systems, poorly functioning water and wastewater systems, water damage, poor lighting, broken elevators and outdated HVAC systems.
The January 2024 ice storm highlighted the urgency of some repair needs, which left the building and the people inside without heat for four days, according to the report. That could be a recurring issue if the county doesn’t address the repairs.
“Future inclement weather events can be expected to have a significant impact on the facility like the winter of 2024,” the report said.
The report called on the county’s jails to hold the Multnomah County Facilities Department to account, noting hundreds of open maintenance tickets at MCDC alone, some dating back to 2022.
Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, Multnomah County communications director, said the facilities department team leads prioritize work tickets daily, assigning work based on their impact on operations relative to one another.
She said facilities department considerations vary based on building type and use.
“Issues that significantly impact services provided to clients, residents or inmates are considered high priorities, as are issues that, if not addressed, may cause additional damage to a building,” Springhetti said. “In facilities that operate 24/7 and have individuals living in the building, work tickets at detention facilities are closely monitored to ensure they are being prioritized appropriately given the significant impact unaddressed issues can have on individuals in custody, visitors and staff.”
Witnesses testified that an evaluation of the building determined it could cost nearly $250 million to fully upgrade the deteriorating facility. However, further testimony said keeping critical systems in order would cost closer to $100 million. The lower cost would not include necessary seismic upgrades.
“This (Corrections Grand Jury) is strongly recommending swift action by Multnomah County leadership to solve the staffing and facility crises that are further outlined in this report and align the work with the goal of rehabilitation,” the report said.
Health care
The Corrections Grand Jury report is the first report to be released after Myque Obiero, Multnomah County Corrections Health director, resigned following a vote of no confidence by more than 97% of corrections health nurses represented by Oregon Nurses Association, or ONA. Obiero was the director from June 2022 to April 2024 during a tense time in which 10 prisoners died in the county’s jails.
Since ONA raised concerns and forced a change in leadership, corrections health added staffing and bolstered continuing education opportunities, according to the report. At the time of publishing, one person has died in the county’s jails, at MCDC, in 2024.
While the report noted relatively satisfactory standards at the juvenile facility, it also recommended improvements to support the young people held there. The jury heard testimony saying people benefited from trauma-informed spaces, particularly as many people in the care of the state had experienced human trafficking.
The Corrections Grand Jury recommended specialized services for trafficking victims, adding more restorative spaces for eating and sleeping, as well as a tablet program for education and entertainment.
“Staff testified that a tablet program would be highly beneficial,” the report said. “Although the youth are allowed to review discovery with their attorneys, tablets would offer additional educational resources. This could help youth with different educational levels and allow youth interested in certain topics to explore those interests.”
The report also noted the county should utilize existing funds to provide housing for people transitioning out of correctional facilities. The city and county’s intergovernmental Homelessness Response Action Plan, passed in July, seeks to end discharges from carceral settings to the streets by 2026.
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This article appears in December 11, 2024.