Letter To The Editor: Does CPD care?
Graphic by Natalie Lutz | Orange Media Network
General Opinion Graphic
November 12, 2021
Last month, a trans woman was assaulted and had her nose broken outside the 7/11 on Kings by two men. Since then, despite them being identified and their faces plastered all over social media, the CPD *STILL* took over a week to make an arrest, only to release them on bail. This is not only unacceptable, but also reinforces that the CPD cares more about giving out traffic tickets than it does investigating actual hate crimes. There are people with non violent drug charges sitting in jail, while actual threats to our community are on the loose. As a trans person, one who walks home late at night, I’ve found myself looking over my shoulder more often than not. What if these men assault someone else? What if they murder someone? Will the CPD care? Does the OSUPD give a damn?
Millicent Durand
Class of 2021 Alumni
Former News Contributor For the Daily Barometer
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Susan • Nov 13, 2021 at 3:31 pm
CPD has nothing to do with bail being posted, that is the purview of the court and jail facility. So people were ID’d, does that make them magically appear at a police station in handcuffs. Get a grip…..
Millicent • Nov 18, 2021 at 9:16 pm
Thank you for your wonderful opinion, oh random person on the internet, who thinks she knows better than me, someone with a sociology degree with a focus on crime and justice and belongs to the same group that these maniacs attacked, about how the criminal justice system worked. If both the CPD and the Prosecutor’s office cared, they’d be in the Benton County Jail right now.
Joanne • Jan 26, 2022 at 8:44 pm
Oh wonderful recently graduated college graduate. Wait until years of real life get to you, you will find a lot more than the system doesn’t care. You will stop caring too. By the way, you too are a random person on the internet.
Jeff • Feb 24, 2022 at 4:55 am
For someone with a sociology degree with a focus on crime and justice, you seem very ill informed about the state of the Benton county jail roster and the offenses committed by those held over within. I would expect one with your education to be aware of recent changes to the charging of persons found in possession of controlled substances. In most cases today it is only a violation and the person is given a citation and released. A quick scan of the jail roster reveals that of all the inmates only four are in there for drug charges. If you look at the CPD daily activity log you will notice that nearly every interaction with the public results in a citation in lieu of arrest or release by request of jail staff.
I too deplore violence and I wish everyone who chose to attack another would receive punishment in full measure. The reality of our time does not allow for this unfortunately. Your frustration and anger are justified and I share them, but you are wrong to blame the CPD as they are not at fault. The police are making arrests but they have nowhere to put the people they catch. Whether the cause is the lack of jail space, the over abundance of acts deemed criminal, courts that are soft on crime, over policing, or any other theory you can think of, all I can say for sure is the answer will not be easy. I don’t even know if a solution can be found. It may be we are witness to a civilization in decline and this is only a preview of the chaos that is to come.