FILE: Police tape blocks off North Commercial Street near Jefferson High School in Portland after shots were fired on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Gun violence in Portland continues to decline, police data show.
The number of shootings in Portland has declined nearly 35% since Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a gun violence emergency in July 2022 amid a surge in deadly shootings. At that time, the city’s monthly shooting average was 116. That average is now 76 shootings per month.
The latest data, presented by city analyst Ryan D’Ambrosio at a public meeting on violence prevention Monday, also shows a 22% decline in average monthly shootings from August 2023 and now. In this report, a shooting includes any incident in which a firearm is discharged and reported to police.
The trend continues a pattern noted by city leaders in January, who released data showing a 22% drop in overall shootings in 2023 compared to 2022. At the time, the city also noted a 37% decrease in gun violence involving young Black men. That downturn has remained constant.
D’Ambrosio pointed out that, in the past year, the city has recorded a 38% decrease in Black gun violence victims across Portland. He attributed the overall decline in shootings to gun violence prevention programs that received millions additional funding through Wheeler’s office and the federal pandemic grants since 2022.
These programs, which provide outreach and counseling to people at risk of gun violence and victims, operate within the city’s Office of Violence Prevention. After years of financial aid, that office is now threatened by looming funding cuts, as federal dollars dry up and the city anticipates budget shortfalls.
“In the next fiscal year, we are being told there are going to be a lot of constraints,” said Elisabeth Perez, the deputy director of Portland’s Community Safety Division, speaking at the Monday meeting. The Community Safety Division oversees the Office of Violence Prevention.
Wheeler has also attributed the decline in shootings to the Office of Violence Prevention’s programming funded by his office. Portland police are less confident about what’s driving the dip in shootings.
“While the decrease in gun violence gives us a reason to be hopeful, it’s difficult to say with certainty what’s contributing to the downturn,” Mike Benner, a Portland Police Bureau spokesperson, said in an email to OPB. He credited the Office of Violence Prevention’s work, but added that the bureau’s gun crimes team and increased officer foot and bicycle patrols in areas with heightened crime are playing a role. ”All of this combined is doing a great deal to address criminal behavior,” he wrote.
Portland saw a record high of 95 homicides in 2022, with 76 of them being caused by a firearm, a trend replicated across other U.S. cities. Portland isn’t alone in seeing a marked decline in the years’ since.
This week, the Major Cities Chiefs Association released data showing a national downturn in violent crime. That report shows that, in the first six months of 2024, Portland saw homicides drop 17% compared to the first half of 2023. The city also saw an overall decrease in reported aggravated assault, robberies, and rape during this time period. Most of the country’s largest cities saw a similar dip in violence this year.
While data reflects a downward trend in gun violence, shootings continue to rattle the city this summer. Late last month, a daytime shooting near North Portland’s Dawson Park shook the neighborhood, which has been a frequent backdrop for violent shootings. This followed several warm weeks that saw an unusually high number of shootings across the Portland metro area.
“While it may ring hollow right now, it is important to note that the city’s gun violence is showing significant improvement,” said Mayor Wheeler at an event in Dawson Park after the July shooting. “We can’t let our momentum in that direction stop.”