By Conrad Wilson & Jonathan Levinson | OPB | April 19, 2023
A rise in crime during the pandemic across most of Oregon’s largest cities – including Portland – is abating, according to a new state analysis of preliminary federal crime data.
From 2021 to 2022 across the state’s largest cities, violent crime dropped a combined 8.8% and property crime decreased by 2.6%. The report, released this week, was compiled by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, a state agency that helps develop criminal justice policy and is a statewide clearinghouse for criminal justice data. The agency examined data in Bend, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro, Portland and Salem, and based its analysis on the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report for 2022, which the federal government released last month. Oregon’s statewide figures could shift as the FBI releases data that includes the rest of the state later this year.
“There are indicators that crime is either plateauing or maybe beginning to come down after a pretty significant increase that we’ve seen over the past year to year and a half,” said Ken Sanchagrin, executive director of the Criminal Justice Commission.
Sanchagrin said the 2022 data suggests crime levels could soon return to pre-pandemic levels.
Read the full article at: OPB