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A majority of Oregonians polled say they oppose Gov. Kate Brown\u2019s decision to commute<\/a> the sentences of people serving time for offenses they committed as juveniles, according to a survey commissioned by the Oregon District Attorneys Association.<\/p>\n A majority of those polled also said the state is headed in the wrong direction on public safety and they feel less safe than compared to two years ago.<\/p>\n The organization, which represents the state\u2019s elected district attorneys, released the poll Tuesday.<\/p>\n Nelson Research, a Salem-based public opinion research firm, polled 500 likely voters on Jan. 4. The margin of error was about 4 percentage points.<\/p>\n The poll touched on a range of public safety and criminal justice issues, including Brown\u2019s use of her clemency authority to commute the sentences of people in prison.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have been among the most vocal opponents of recent legislative changes, which included limiting crimes eligible for the death penalty<\/a> and shifting juveniles accused of violent crimes<\/a> from the adult system into the juvenile one.<\/p>\n Two district attorneys joined the families of crime victims in a recent lawsuit to block the governor\u2019s commutations.<\/p>\n On clemency, 56% of those polled somewhat or strongly opposed Brown\u2019s commutations of juvenile offenders.<\/p>\n Last fall, Brown commuted the sentences of offenders serving mandatory minimum sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles by making more than 70 of them eligible to pursue parole. She also said she will personally consider releasing about 140 others case by case.<\/p>\n Of those polled, 65% said community safety and crime have become more important in the past two years and 55% said their city or county were less safe in that period. About 62% said they felt Oregon\u2019s \u201cpolitical leadership\u201d is \u201ctoo soft\u201d on crime.<\/p>\n Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel, who has split with the district attorneys group on many issues related to changes in the criminal justice system, blasted the survey, calling it \u201ceither a deliberate push poll to produce results that mirror the majority opinion\u201d of the association\u2019s members or \u201cit was a negligent work product that inadvertently resulted in biased questions.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cEither way, the results should be viewed with caution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, earlier this week the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission released the results of its first crime victim study, which found that 30% of Oregonians surveyed reported they had been victims of crime in 2020. The commission is a clearinghouse for criminal justice data.<\/p>\n State analysts say the rate is higher than the national rate, though they said survey methodology is likely a factor in the difference. The annual federal survey, for instance, involves multiple interviews of members of the same household over a period of years. Oregon conducted its study by contacting Oregonians via letters and asking them to complete a survey online or by phone.<\/p>\n The state survey also found that Black and Native American Oregonians, as well as people who are gay, lesbian and bisexual reported higher rates of victimization compared with the state as a whole.<\/p>\n — Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com<\/a>; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n