Budget cuts at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office are having dire effects on local businesses plagued with shoplifters.
Budget cuts at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office are having dire effects on local businesses.
Many misdemeanor crimes, including shoplifting under $250 of merchandise, are being prosecuted as violations, similar to a traffic ticket.
“I can see the need for cutbacks, but I don’t understand the need to announce to everybody that you’re not going to prosecute everyone if they steal,” [general manager of Rich’s Cigar Store Bill] Shindler says. “What’s going to happen to them? Absolutely nothing.”
Shindler says his shoplifters know about the new policy already.
“The word’s already out there,” he says. “We’re already seeing things disappear.”
Read more at the Portland Tribune.
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