County approves $277,196 state grant for organized retail‑theft investigator, equipment and conference

Multnomah County commissioners on April 2 approved a budget modification to accept $277,196 in state organized retail theft (ORT) grant funding administered by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission and to appropriate the funds to the District Attorney's Office for investigations, a pass‑through to the Organized Retail Crime Association of Oregon (ORCA) and to support a conference.

Commissioner Bridal Edwards moved the budget modification; Commissioner Moyer seconded. The motion passed on a roll‑call vote with Commissioners Moyer, Singleton, Bridal Edwards, Jones Dixon and Chair Vega Peterson recorded as voting yes.

Michelle Myers, MCDA finance manager, said the one‑time grant will fund one MCDA investigator position and pass money to ORCA for marketing, surveillance equipment and an organized retail‑theft conference expected to draw roughly 350 attendees. The item supplements existing local investments: presenters noted the county and City of Portland previously partnered on a task force and that the county budget already includes more than $876,000 in investments to support investigative and prosecution work in this area.

Deputy District Attorney Teresa Turner, the DA’s dedicated organized retail theft prosecutor, told the board her small team — she said it consists of herself plus one legal assistant and two investigators — has recently handled very large case volumes. Turner reported that in the past six months investigators followed up on more than 600 retail theft mission cases referred to the office, her legal assistant entered roughly 450 incidents into the database, and the office had indicted more than 200 incidents involving 11 individuals with retail loss totals noted at over $400,000; Turner said past investigations produced convictions accounting for over $750,000 in retail loss recovery.

DA Nathan Vasquez described the ORT workload as “massive” and said county staffing is outpaced by volume; he said the current modification helps but that he expects additional funding requests in the future.

Public comments included calls for better data on where retail theft occurs and whether auto theft is included in the task force’s remit. Commenters also urged a broader approach addressing poverty and services. Commissioner questions focused on line‑item clarifications (for example, insurance and internal service assessments that fund PERS and benefits for new FTE) and on whether the conference and pass‑through will directly assist small businesses; staff confirmed ORCA will receive funds for outreach and equipment purchases for retail partners.

Ending: The board approved the one‑time appropriation. County and DA staff said they will continue coordination with law enforcement partners and community stakeholders and may seek additional resources in future budget cycles as workloads dictate.