At the end of 2020, the official number of Portland homicides was 54, which was a tie with 1993 for being the highest in Portland’s history. However, now the Portland Police Bureau is reporting 57 homicides for 2020, which would make that year an all-time high.
Portland just hit 54 homicides for 2021. They are poised to absolutely shatter all records for violence this year.
2019: 187
2020: 262 (40% increase over 2019)
2021: 567 (116% increase over 2020, 203% increase over 2019)
Tracking Portland Homicides:
54. Unnamed homeless man, July 24th (Stabbed)
53. Joseph Dewey, 38, White male, July 17th
52. Makayla Maree Harris, 18, Black female, July 17th
51. Tyler Morlock, 27, White male, July 1st
50. Alex Hensley, 28, Black male, June 28th
49. Olance A. Upton, 47, Black male, June 25th
48. Alexander Douglas Martinson, 19, White Male, June 19th (Suspect: Jaizion Propps, 20, Black male)
47. Evelin Navarro-Barajas, 23 Hispanic female, June 18th
46. Sergio Hunt, 17, Black male, June 17th
45. Wiliam Kendrick, 36, Black male, June 17th
44. Unnamed, June 8th
43. Mitchell Nacoste, 31 Black male, June 6th
42. Kendall Gragg, 27 Black male, June 6th
41. Donovan Lenford, 24, June 6th
40. Eylon Willis, 23 Black male, June 6th
39. Gary O’Connor, 45, June 5th
In 1993, as the so-called “Crack Wars” raged across the country, Portland had its highest recorded murder rate ever at 11.61 per 100k. Unless homicides drop, Portland is on track to experience a homicide rate in the neighborhood of 15 per 100k for 2021.
Before August 2019, Portland counted negligent vehicular homicide as part of their overall homicide count. This means the homicide counts for 2019 and earlier could be lower if the new rules were applied.
1971: 15 (384k people, 3.9 per 100k)
1993: 54 (465k people, 11.61 per 100k)
2008: 24
2009: 21
2010: 23 (about 584k people)
2011: 19 (forty-year low)
2012: 25
2013: 16 (forty-two year low, the lowest murder rate in modern history for Portland, about 607k people, 2.64 per 100k)
2014: 26
2015: 34
2016: 20
2017: 25
2018: 36
2019: 35
2020: 57 all-time high (about 659k people, 8.65 per 100k)*
Average yearly homicides from 2008 to 2017: 23.3
In 1960, the entire state of Oregon, with 1.77 million people, only had 43 homicides. Today, Portland is estimated to have .65 million residents.
In 1971, the entire state of Oregon, with 2.16 million people, had 70 homicides. Portland, with 384k, had 15 homicides that year.
The population increase since 1990 has been primarily Latino and Asians. Whites have declined as a percentage of the population since 1940. Blacks began declining as a percentage of the population since 1990.
