You aren’t imagining it. Car thefts in Portland, including Beaumont-Wilshire, have increased dramatically over the past few years. Portland Police Bureau (PPB) data for August 2017 show 22 reported crimes for the neighborhood, six of which were “motor vehicle theft”—making it the most commonly reported crime. “Burglary” and “theft from motor vehicle” followed with 4 incidents each, although it is probable that “theft from motor vehicle” is underreported and therefore more common than the statistics suggest.
PPB statistics show a total of 3,552 vehicles reported stolen in 2014, jumping 19 percent to 4,225 in 2015, and another 24 percent to 5,247 in 2016. Through August 2017, the number of vehicles reported stolen was 4,693—an astonishing 65 percent increase over the same period last year.
Astonishing, except that it makes perfect sense. Believe it or not, there is pretty much no penalty for stealing a car in the state of Oregon. In 2014 the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the State must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the driver of a stolen vehicle must know that it is stolen. According to Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Lufkin, prior to this decision, and today in all the states neighboring Oregon, case law held that “the unexplained possession of recently stolen goods raises a presumption or warrants an inference of guilty possession.” Washington State requires “slight corroborative evidence,” which could be anything from stolen license plates, a large ring of car keys, stolen property, controlled substances, documents with other people’s names, or the driver’s own statements or conduct. As it stands now, the driver of the stolen vehicle must either admit to knowing it is stolen, or there must be an eyewitness who can connect the driver to the theft. Since the thieves associate with each other, and they all know how to evade the law, this is a standard of evidence the prosecution essentially can never meet; so even though arrests are up, prosecutions are down about 20 percent this year.
The DA’s office promoted an amendment to the law known as HB 2794-A that was voted on in April by the Oregon House Judiciary Committee. According to testimony Lufkin provided at the hearing, this bill would have adopted the same standard of proof required in Washington, Idaho, and California (and formerly Oregon): “Being the possessor of the stolen vehicle coupled with ‘slight corroborative evidence’ is sufficient to prove guilt… Leave it to juries to decide on a case by case basis.”
As it stands now, the DA’s office can’t even bring the cases to trial. Although the Judiciary Committee approved the amendment, it died in committee and was never voted on by the legislature.
Oregonians who have endured the shock and frustration of having their car stolen might be galled to find out that a significant factor in getting legislation like this to the House floor is whether it will have a fiscal impact—i.e., the cost of arresting and prosecuting car thieves, and potentially incarcerating them, versus letting them walk. “There’s a cost to catching more people, a theoretical dollar value,” Lufkin said, that the legislature takes into account. “It doesn’t reflect the cost to victims. We argue that HB 2794 aims to restore what we used to have, which is a statute that worked.”
The car thieves are, for the most part, professionals, according to Lufkin, which only means that most of the thefts are committed by repeat offenders who are skilled at stealing cars. Often they are drug addicts who sell the car quickly for a couple hundred dollars, or a fraction of the blue book value of what are typically older cars, because all they are looking for is quick cash. The buyers, on the other hand, understand that their use of the car will be short term. Either the seller or the buyer strips the car of anything of value, which is why even though upwards of 90 percent of all vehicles stolen in Portland are recovered, most recovered cars are “trashed, with greatly depreciated value,” he said.
But the primary reason this legislative amendment never made it to a vote is a lack of time and attention in the legislature. “It’s a squeaky wheel issue,” Lufkin said. The legislature takes action depending on “who is at their front door making the biggest stink.” And so far the citizens of Portland haven’t insisted that the car theft issue be addressed, which is tragic considering how simple the solution is. The Deputy District Attorney urges all citizens who care about this issue to contact their state representatives (below), by phone, mail, or email, and copy their letters to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees:
Senator Michael Dembrow, Democrat, District 23 Phone: 503-986-1723 Address: 900 Court St NE, S-407 Salem, OR, 97301 Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
Representative Barbara Smith Warner, Democrat, District 45 Phone: 503-986-1445 Address: 900 Court St NE, H-275 Salem, OR, 97301 rep.barbarasmithwarner@oregonlegislature.gov