For most of the 2000s and 2010s, Portland had very low violent crime rates. This all came apart as the city adopted far-left ideologies that portray dangerous criminals as victims of circumstance.
Violent crime exploded in Portland during the second half of 2020, as city leaders stood down and allowed BLM & Antifa militants to riot for months with impunity. In the first eight months of 2021, Portland had more homicides than it did in the three years from 2011-2013.
Now Ted Wheeler is posting on social media that he wants to hire three hundred new police officers. Dozens of people responded to Wheeler, most of whom denounced the police. Some threatened more riots in Portland.
1971: 15 (384k people, 3.9 per 100k)
1987: 66 (450k people, 14.7 per 100k)
1993: 54 (498k people, 10.8 per 100k)
2008: 24
2009: 21
2010: 23
2011: 19 (forty-year low)
2012: 25
2013: 16 (forty-two year low, 607k people, 2.64 per 100k)
2014: 26
2015: 34
2016: 20
2017: 25
2018: 36
2019: 35
2020: 57 (about 659k people, 8.65 per 100k)*
2021: 71 homicides in the first ten months
