FBI Releases 2008 Crime Stats for Oregon, Washington

Today, the FBI released its annual Crime in the United States report for American cities. Nationwide, violent crime fell by 1.9%. Property crime was down 0.8%. Overall, each of the four specific violent crime offense categories—from aggravated assault to murder—was down from 2007. Only one of the property crime offense categories, motor vehicle thefts, dropped from 2007 to 2008; the other property crime categories were all up.

Some highlights from the Pacific Northwest include:

The rate of violent crime for Oregon’s cities decreased by 6.8%, and the property crime rate decreased by 4.7%.

• The rate of violent crime for Washington’s cities declined by 0.9%, and its property crime rate declined by 6.4%.
• In Portland, the rates for rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft were all down. The rate for murder and non-negligent homicides were up (from 22 to 26).
• In Eugene, the rates for all crime categories were up, including murders and non-negligent homicides (from 1 to 2).
• In Gresham, the number of rapes, robberies, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts were down. The numbers of murders were up (1 to 6) as were aggravated assaults and burglaries.
• In Salem, there were decreases in the numbers of aggravated assaults, larceny-thefts, and motor vehicle thefts. There were increases in the number of murders (from 3 to 9), robberies, and burglaries. The number of rapes was unchanged.
• In Vancouver, the numbers of murders were down (from 7 to 0) as were the numbers of rapes, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and larceny-thefts. The number of robberies and motor vehicle thefts were up.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data on the following crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-threat, and motor vehicle thefts. About 17,800 city, county and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily submit data to this nationwide, cooperative statistical effort.

PORTLAND

Murder & non-negligent manslaughter
2008 - 26
2007 - 22

Forcible Rape
2008 - 250
2007 - 280

Robbery
2008 - 1,132
2007 - 1,289

Aggravated Assault
2008 - 2,037
2007 - 2,110

Burglary
2008 - 4,307
2007 - 4,840

Larceny-theft
2008 - 21,597
2007 - 21,978

Motor vehicle theft
2008 - 3,339
2007 - 4768

EUGENE

Murder & non-negligent manslaughter
2008 - 2
2007 - 1

Forcible rape
2008 - 60
2007 - 55

Robbery
2008 - 223
2007 - 181

Aggravated assault
2008 - 211
2007 - 189

Burglary
2008 - 1,704
2007 - 1,640

Larceny-theft
2008 - 6,814
2007 - 5,119

Motor vehicle theft
2008 - 1,303
2007 - 1,045

GRESHAM

Murder & non-negligent manslaughter
2008 - 6
2007 - 1

Forcible Rape
2008 - 72
2007 - 74

Robbery
2008 - 156
2007 - 170

Aggravated Assault
2008 - 261
2007 - 225

Burglary
2008 - 703
2007 - 627

Larceny-theft
2008 - 2,502
2007 - 2,671

Motor vehicle theft
2008 - 684
2007 - 1,034

SALEM

Murder & non-negligent manslaughter
2008 - 9
2007 - 3

Forcible Rape
2008 - 58
2007 - 58

Robbery
2008 - 136
2007 - 132

Aggravated Assault
2008 - 369
2007 - 390

Burglary
2008 - 1,094
2007 - 915

Larceny-theft
2008 - 5,428
2007 - 5,629

Motor vehicle theft
2008 - 651
2007 - 892

VANCOUVER

Murder & non-negligent manslaughter
2008 - 0
2007 - 7

Forcible Rape
2008 - 105
2007 - 118

Robbery
2008 - 176
2007- 166

Aggravated Assault
2008 - 324
2007 - 355

Burglary
2008 - 842
2007 - 1,005

Larceny-theft
2008 - 4,248
2007 - 4,581

Motor vehicle theft
2008 - 1,208
2007 - 971

The FBI simply compiles the information as it is provided from local jurisdictions. You will need to contact those local jurisdictions for any analysis of the numbers listed above. Also note that the report features a prominent message cautioning against using the statistics to rank cities or counties. Such rankings can lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses, overlooking the many variables impacting crime and its reporting. You can view the entire report on the FBI's website at www.fbi.gov.