OR: Racist Exclusion Zones End

As of September 30, 2007, Portland’s exclusion zones are no more. The city decided not to renew the zones after a report suggested that racism was a factor in who received exclusions.

For fifteen years, Portland police have had the ability to ban people from certain parts of the city based on suspicion that a person was selling drugs. Later prostitution was added as an excludable offense. The policy changed slightly over the years and survived several legal challenges. The most recent incarnation of the policy required arrest, but not a conviction, before a police officer could issue an exclusion.

In 2007, the city hired consultant John Campbell to investigate racial bias in the way exclusions were issued. He found that the vast majority of exclusions (59%) were issued to African Americans. Thirty-four percent of the exclusions were issued to white people. Mr. Campbell found that police were also more like to issue exclusions to people with cocaine than to people with meth.

For more information about racial disparity in the criminal justice system, see the Summer 2007 issue of Justice Matters.
Information about the exclusion zones can be found in the article Yes, Racial Disparity Exists in Oregon.

This news report is based on a story in the Oregonian, Drug Free Zones End on Bias Issue. If the link is broken, check the newspaper’s archives.