Bess Wills, owner of Gresham Ford

This column is brought to you by Bess Wills, owner of Gresham Ford. Sponsored Content.

For years in this very column I begged for your help to stop the Catalytic Convertor thieves that were causing havoc in our community.   Single moms would go out to take their kids to daycare and drive to work, to find their vehicle had been stripped of this vital component. There were Senior Citizens that had theirs stolen while they were at the grocery store, we even helped people that had theirs stolen while visiting loved ones in the hospital.   The thing all these folks had in common was they were having trouble making ends meet before they had this shoe drop.   Insurance claims could be made but the deductibles still left many out of pocket and one step closer to homelessness.

We beat the drum for arrests (and you all helped), then when the culprits were arrested, they were not being prosecuted. Only when prosecution of the ring leaders began to happen did this all slow down.   

Now hear this… auto thefts are also down.  According to AI (and who am I to argue with AI).  “This downward trend in Multnomah County is attributed to coordinated efforts by the Auto Theft Task Force (DA’s Office), community involvement, and targeted law enforcement strategies.”

Where I am going with all this – the County has proposed a budget cutting the DA’s office which in turn eliminates the Auto Theft Task Force….so I am once again begging, not just for our business but for everyone who pays car insurance (as it will continue to go up if we do not stem the tide).  Please let your County Commissioners know that cutting the DA’s budget, which is a fraction of the billion-dollar budget of Multnomah County, is not acceptable. A vibrant District Attorney’s Office of investigation of crimes and swift and just prosecution are key to a safe and economically vibrant community.

P.S.  It also cuts the “Retail Task Force” that has arrested and prosecuted millions of dollars in shoplifting (and that saves us all $).