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Unimpressed by the performance of Multnomah County’s drug-crime deflection center, District Attorney Nathan Vasquez today proposed changes that would bring criminal penalties for people who fail to complete the deflection process.
Under current rules, people stopped for possession of controlled substances are given the option to avoid the criminal justice system by agreeing to pursue treatment in some form. People who choose deflection aren’t reported to D.A. and no charges are brought.
Vasquez wants that to change in the new year.
“Effective Jan. 5, 2026, when police take a qualifying individual to the deflection center, they will also submit all investigative reports and materials on the underlying charges to the district attorney for review,” Vasquez wrote to city and county leaders in a memo obtained by WW. “All individuals who walk out of the center without participating in an assessment will be prosecuted if the evidence supports it.”
Vasquez’s office would also track people in deflection for 90 days. If they “meaningfully engage” in treatment during that time, no charges will be filed, Vasquez wrote.
The changes reflect Vasquez’s belief, shared by many in the community, that the requirements for successful deflection are too lenient and rarely lead to people becoming sober. In Multnomah County, completion is defined as seeking peer support, shelter, medical help, sobering services, detox, treatment for substance use disorder, mental health treatment or “insurance/basic needs.”
Oregon counties were encouraged by the Legislature in 2024 to start deflection programs. The idea was to keep people arrested for drug possession out of jail after lawmakers overturned 2020’s Measure 110 and recriminalized the personal use of illegal drugs.
Multnomah County elected to open its Coordinated Care Pathway Center as a place for police to bring people they pick up on drug charges. During its first year of operations, officers brought violators to the center 606 times, the county said. Not counting repeat visitors, the center served 520 people. Using either figure, the number of visits works out to fewer than two a day for the year.
