Violent crime rates in Salem rise steadily
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While cities across the U.S. have experienced dramatic spikes in homicide rates over the past few years, data shows Salem’s violent crime rates climbing at a more gradual pace.
Homicide rates in the U.S. have surged over the past few years amid the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest. The FBI reported a nearly 30% increase in murders in 2020, the largest single-year jump since the bureau began recording crime statistics six decades ago.
Similarly, large cities across the country saw their homicide rates skyrocket. Portland recorded 55 homicides in 2020, the most in 26 years. Then, the city topped its all-time record last year with 90 homicides, the Associated Press reported.
The spike has been causing alarm among residents across Oregon. A 500-person survey conducted late last year by DHM Research showed homelessness and crime among the chief issues in the Portland area. All 19 Oregon gubernatorial candidates up for the May 17 primary elections have agreed on the need for bolstering the numbers of police officers in the state, not just for homelessness, but for a general increase in crime.
The latest data shows the violent crime rate in Oregon’s capital city, while generally trending upward, has done so at a steady pace, particularly over the past six years, according to Salem Police Department’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics.
Violent crimes include homicides, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The rate reflects the number of crimes per 100,000 people.
For the first half of a 15-year period, starting in 2007, violent crime in the city appeared to remain consistent, with a dip between 2013 and 2016, according to Dr. Miyuki Arimoto, James Bents and Mari Sakiyama, professors and instructors from Western Oregon University’s Criminal Justice Sciences Division.
The numbers took a turn in 2016, and violent crime rates have been gradually on the rise since, the professors stated in their analysis of the police department’s data.
The data does show some turbulent shifts year over year. The city saw violent crime rates drop 17% in 2010, for example, and rise 18% in 2017.
Last year, Salem’s violent crime rate rose 10%, compared to slight decreases in the two years prior, data shows.
Homicides have significantly fluctuated on a yearly basis. Police recorded nine homicides in 2021 — a 50% jump from the previous year but tied with the number of murders in 2019.
Aggravated assaults account for the largest portion of violent crime in Salem, with 620 cases in 2021. Reports of rape remained the same last year, while robbery and aggravated assault rose by 12% and 17%, respectively.
Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack expressed his concern about the city’s rising violent crime rate, citing an overall 35% increase since 2007.
“The dynamics of violent crimes have changed as our city has grown,” Womack said. “These crimes afflict the greatest harm upon individual victims, while instilling legitimate fear throughout affected neighborhoods. Our job is to bring those numbers down in smart ways while building trust with our community. That takes time, effort, and resources.”
In 2019, Salem’s violent crime rate was lower than similar-sized cities across the country: 431 per 100,000 people.
In U.S. cities with populations between 100,000 and 249,999, the crime rate was 452 per 100,000 in 2019, according to the FBI’s latest data. National figures show violent crime rates have decreased in comparable cities by 29% since 2007.
In 2021, Salem’s violent crime rate reached 463 per 100,000. The FBI has not yet released UCR data for 2020 or 2021.
Property crime rates have also shifted over the past 15 years. The data shows the rates have been on an overall downtrend in Salem since 2007, with the exception of an “irregular” spike in 2017, WOU professors said.
Property crime rates include burglary, car thefts, larceny and arson. While the property crime rate has declined in Salem, it still remains significantly higher than in similarly-sized cities.
Reports of arson over the past two years have shot up nearly 160% in Salem. Police recorded 135 arson reports in 2021 alone, a 15-year high.
But overall, property crime rates have decreased by 20% since 2018; the last spike recorded was 15% in 2017.
Last year, the property crime rate was 3,939 per 100,000. Similar-sized cities in the country show a 2,704 per 100,000-rate, according to FBI data.
Virginia Barreda is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at 503-399-6657 or at vb******@st**************.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2
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