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Group seeks to change Portland misdemeanor charge into felony

Those crimes that carry lighter penalties are usually classified as misdemeanors. There are many different types of misdemeanors, including certain types of theft. In Portland, Oregon, if someone breaks into the car of another and steals property from within that car, that person has committed a misdemeanor.

Under the current law, the number of times a person is convicted of committing this type of theft has no effect on how he or she is treated by prosecutors. In other words, thefts from cars are always treated as a misdemeanor. Most offenders currently receive probation if they are found guilty on this type of misdemeanor charge.

However, one local group -- the Portland Downtown Neighborhood Association -- wants to see this law changed. Its members have written and submitted a legislative proposal asking for repeat offenses to be treated as a felony. They believe that the current law does not act enough as a deterrent to stop this type of criminal activity from happening. According to police, there were 431 reports of thefts from cars in Portland's downtown neighborhood last year.

Under the legislative proposal, a person's third conviction for unlawful entry and theft from a car would be treated as a felony under the Repeat Property Offender Law. Penalties under this law are much more serious than misdemeanor sentences and could include some prison time.

If this law is changed and subsequent convictions can be treated as felonies, it will make criminal defense all the more important for those accused of stealing from a car. These people will want to make sure they are not unfairly convicted to avoid the serious penalties associated with felonies, and to avoid having a felony conviction on their criminal records.

Source: The Oregonian, "Downtown Portland automobile break-ins are up, neighbors to ask for tougher prowling law," Oct. 18, 2012

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