1 deadline to start reporting with an updated system and told the state it would do so in October. Meloni Morrison, Interim Uniform Crime Reporting program coordinator for Oregon State Police, said the sheriff’s office missed the Jan. That leaves an incomplete picture of crime countywide for 2021. Oregon law requires all law enforcement agencies to report crime statistics through the Oregon Uniform Crime Reporting program, grouping offenses and arrests as crimes against people, property crimes or “crimes against society,” which include offenses related to personal conduct and public order like driving under the influence and disorderly conduct, according to the uniform crime reporting methodology.īut the Marion County Sheriff’s Office has continued to share crime data with the state through an older system called Summary Reporting Standards, which is no longer reflected in the numbers the state publishes. Offenses involving heroin fell from 153 to 40. In cases involving drugs, those with amphetamines and methamphetamines declined by about 75% from 721 in 2020 to 180 in 2021. Most forms of property crimes declined from last year, with the total falling about 19% from 10,459 to 8,492.
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Local organizations that support victims of domestic violence saw a rise in requests for shelter during the pandemic. Salem police’s reports of simple assault dropped by about 5% this year, while aggravated assault grew by 10%. “It's a managing of our limited resources for what we can most safely affect in the community.” “So, it makes it very difficult for us to dedicate resources to those when we have traffic fatalities, when we have shootings going on, we still have delivery amounts going out there,” he said. Those cited with possession can be fined $100 or have the fine waived if they undergo a health screening. The department continues to investigate people who have drugs in quantities considered “delivery amounts,” Upkes said.Īs a result of Measure 110, having small amounts of drugs now falls under a low-level civil violation. Upkes also said Salem police’s shift toward addressing serious crimes against people, like shootings and assaults, has meant less of a focus on drug offenses involving small quantities. The law was intended to treat addiction as a health matter instead of a criminal concern and invest in grants to expand treatment and referral centers.
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The decline came after Oregonians passed Measure 110 last fall, decriminalizing possession of small quantities of heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. Meanwhile, drug and narcotics offenses reported by Salem police fell from 581 to 164. “That's why when we have a concerted effort in that area, we'll see an uptick in finding people with guns and taking them from them.”
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“With our Strategic Investigations Unit, we have definitely turned towards combating weapons offenses and searching out people who are using firearms,” Upkes said. Treven Upkes said the spike in those reports coincides with Salem police’s response to a rise in shootings at the beginning of 2021. Reports of weapon law violations rose by about 80% this year during that same period from 162 to 291. 26, the department reported six murders this year compared to two in 2020, according to Oregon State Police’s statewide crime data. The Salem Police Department reported an increase in murders and weapon offenses from last year as the agency prioritized responding to a recent uptick in shootings.īetween Jan.