That's why it surely ought to be able to accommodate a Multnomah County parole and probation office. The concerns expressed by some downtown business leaders about the safety, livability and impact on business climate of locating a county parole office on the transit mall downtown are based more on misperceptions than real problems. Multnomah County and the Association for Portland Progress need to tackle those misperceptions head-on, instead of fighting over the decision. The Mead Building on Southwest Fifth Avenue is a reasonable site for a westside parole and probation center that has outgrown its current leased space just seven blocks away. The Mead Building is county-owned, which would save the county the money it now spends on leasing parole office space, and has been the site of other county services for some time.
Police support the mall site.
They think that the area would be safer than it is now because of the move. For one thing, about 90 parole and probation officers would be working out of the building. For another, parolees and probationers usually don't hang around their parole offices any longer than they have to. And, for that matter, the parolees and probationers are already downtown, either because they live there or because they come to the current parole office on Southwest 12th Avenue to check in or take classes. If anything, those who come by bus or train will have less reason to hang around the new office.