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Opinion | Wearing my heart on my t-shirt

Transforming Justice | Harm reduction practices and implementation take time and Oregonians are walking in the right direction I have a T-shirt that I like to wear grocery shopping. Even though it is one of my favorite shirts, I usually don’t put it on un ...

30 Nov 2022 - Andy Ko
End the disastrous drug war and focus on healing

COMMENTARY | We're ready for a new vision for public safety and justice The war on drugs is over! How many times over the past 25 years have I wished I could say that, just to know how it would feel to have one of America’s most tragic experiments wi ...

3 Nov 2016 - Andy Ko
It’s time we fundamentally change how we view policing

COMMENTARY | How can we eliminate presumption that law enforcement involves application of superior force? A wise friend of mine once gave me advice on coping with a paralyzing sense of helplessness. Gordon said, “Find a starting point that seems right to ...

21 Jul 2016 - Andy Ko
Measure 11 makes no sense for youths

COMMENTARY | ‘Get tough’ response to crime has devastating consequences In 2011, Partnership for Safety and Justice and the Campaign for Youth Justice published “Misguided Measures.” We examined Oregon’s Ballot Measure 11 (1994) and how, by exposing youth ...

4 Apr 2016 - Andy Ko
A whole-system perspective on why justice matters

COMMENTARY | Justice is a process with a purpose Long before coming to Oregon, I watched with fascination the evolution of what eventually became Partnership for Safety and Justice. I remember thinking, “What a brilliant name! Finally, a policy reform or ...

4 Feb 2016 - Andy Ko
Commentary: Seattle took the LEAD; Oregon should follow

A Utah-based harm reduction advocate once said to me, “I love cops.” That surprised me — just a little bit. If you aren’t familiar with the “harm reduction” movement and its philosophy, think of syringe exchange programs and safer-sex education. Basicall ...

20 Jul 2015 - Andy Ko
Don’t be helpless. Exercise your free speech and give

Autumn has always affected me the same way. This time of year and its fading light draw me into a reflective mood — let’s say an even more reflective mood. I think quite a lot about my family, my friends, what has been good in the year and what I could ha ...

1 Dec 2014 - Andy Ko
Answering the big question: Why I’m here

When the dust settles following any significant change in my life — a new job, a new home, a birth, a death — my mind starts asking me questions. I blame my father for this. They are mostly his questions. My mind sometimes even poses them with his slight ...

10 Oct 2014 - Andy Ko