FBI Releases 2008 Crime Stats for Oregon and Washington

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data on murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-threat, and motor vehicle thefts.

Courtesy: Federal Bureau of Investigation

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - 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.