Violent crime drops but remains at "historic highs"
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Homicides in Portland fell 8% from 2023 to 2024 amid a drop in overall violent crime, according to preliminary data.
Why it matters: The new stats suggest COVID-era crime levels all but evaporated from large cities during former President Biden's final year in office, even as President Trump's claims that crime was up in cities such as Portland became a key part of his election strategy.
By the numbers: Portland recorded 67 homicides in 2024, down from 73 in 2023, according to data compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA).
- The city also recorded 347 rapes in 2024, compared with 364 in 2023; 1,122 robberies last year compared with 1,234 in 2023.
- Aggravated assaults were up in 2024, with 3,020 compared with 2,964 in 2023.
- Yes, but: Those numbers were still higher than in most other cities of the same size, including Sacramento, California, Salt Lake City and Tampa, Florida.
Between the lines: The figures continue a yearslong decline in violent crime, even though they remain at "historic highs," according to a report released last month by Portland Police Bureau.
- In the report, Chief Bob Day wrote that the agency will continue to focus on "data driven" crime- and location-specific missions.
- Operations will be prioritized in neighborhoods where calls for service regarding vehicle theft, street racing and narcotics suppression are concentrated.
- The agency's goals for 2025 include "transforming" the fraught relationship between its officers and the public, reducing crime overall and growing its force — something it has struggled to do for years, resulting in a substantial deficit of officers.
Zoom out: Nationwide, violent crime — especially homicides — rose during Biden's first two years as president before dropping dramatically the next two years, per MCCA data.
- An Axios analysis of the 2024 preliminary crime data from 69 self-reporting large police departments in the U.S. found that violent crimes decreased overall by 6%.
- Robberies (-9%), rape (-6%), and aggravated assaults (-5%) all declined, the Axios analysis found.
- Homicides dropped 24% from 2020 (the first nine months of the pandemic and Trump's last year in office) to 2024.