Neighborhood Crime Statistics for South Portland 2023

Portland Police Bureau offers crime statistics for the neighborhoods of Portland through its Tableau-powered public website.

I did a quick review of the data for South Portland and thought I'd share it here in case others are interested.

All offenses past year (Nov 2022-Nov 2023):

Taking a longer view back to 2016, we can see the overall increasing trend, though taking note of a potential peak in fall of 2022.

Regarding said peak, various sources including this Atlantic article have reported on violent crime rates peaking (with Portland's highest homicide rate in history in 2022), followed by a significant drop in 2023. 

The FBI Uniform Crime Reports for Oregon data is compiled through 2022 but suggests early indications of that decline: "Overall, Oregon’s most populated cities have experienced a nearly 9 percent decrease in violent index crime from 2021 to 2022, largely influenced by significant decreases in Bend, Eugene, and Portland. This is compared to the 11.8 percent increase in violent crime between 2020 and 2021, which indicates that the concerning increase in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic may be reversing, at least in those locales."

Back to South Portland, the largest category for the neighborhood is Larceny (unlawful taking away of property from another entity). Larceny combined with Burglaries make up 62% of the Property-related offenses since 2016, and 54% of all offenses. 

 Vandalism saw a sharp rise up through last winter, with this year showing a decrease.

The category that stands out the most in terms of recent spikes is... Motor Vehicle Theft. That is consistent with trends across other Portland neighborhoods.

In comparison with the US-wide Motor Vehicle Theft trend as reported by the FBI Crime Data below, Oregon is roughly tracking the trend, but well below the US rate. 

More on the stolen vehicle stats to come, and here. Portland restarted up an auto theft task force to tackle this in May 2023, and DA Mike Schmidt has commented on this Jeff-alytics article that yes, the viral Kia Tiktok video was impactful, and the new enforcement initiative and algorithms for stopping cars are contributing to a decline in Portland in 2023.

All of the Portland data is available and sortable by neighborhood via the PPB site, for a deeper dive. 

A review of the Motor Vehicle Theft data is next. Let me know if you are interested in more on this topic!

New Section of the South Waterfront Greenway Path Opens

The South Waterfront Greenway Path has been a long-term project which we've tracked since 2012.  

For a little history, this dates back to city discussion in 2012, photos of the construction in 2015, and the Greenway grand opening in 2015.

A new section of the Greenway Path opened recently, and is finally connecting the section of path opened in 2015 with the path at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Sharing this piece and some great photos from Jonathan Maus of BikePortland:

https://bikeportland.org/2023/12/20/new-piece-of-south-waterfront-greenway-path-now-open-382660

Photo from BikePortland.org

City of Portland info: South Waterfront Greenway 

Welcome to South Portland?

The City of Portland is considering changing thousands of addresses to create a new area called South Portland, in our neck of the woods...

http://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/south-portland-city-may-change-thousands-of-addresses/283-524515840

http://www.kxl.com/pbot-eyes-south-portland/

http://www.koin.com/news/local/multnomah-county/portlands-6th-sextant-s-to-replace-some-sw-addresses/1001029081

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oregon/articles/2018-03-01/portland-considers-changing-addresses-in-southwest-area

http://www.oregonlive.com/roadreport/index.ssf/2018/02/sixth_sextant_city_considering.html

(Hmm, national news? http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article202880199.html)

Moody Food Carts 2018

 

The Moody Ave Food Dock of 2018

Historical Lookback

Located at the south end of the South Waterfront, at 3786 SW Moody Ave, these former loading docks are now home to 6* food carts, which have become a regular lunchtime hotspot for those who live and work here.

Rip City Grill - the original, ever-popular, (and a favorite of several Blazers and Timbers players)

Hula Hut - In its latest iteration, the center cart previously known as Taste of Mexican Food (and before that Taste of a Gyro) is now "proud to serve fresh quality Hawaiian food". (Hint: try the fish tacos!)

Lets Eat Thai Food - I am a devoted regular customer.

Kai's Kitchen - teriyaki bowls (Kai's Kitchen is actually at the corner of Moody & Bancroft, not on the docks.)

The Sadona Coffee Co - espresso stand

Gyro Plus - new this summer

Are you a food cart interested in the Moody Ave Food Dock location?
www.moodyfoodcarts.com

The Gantry 

All-new food cart pod opened July 2015 at Zidell Yards near the OHSU Tram.
Hot Box BBQ
ASH wood-fired pizza
Garden Monsters - salads
Neue Southern
Namu Korean-Hawaiian
Home Base Farm Stand

Scout Beer Garden

Former Food Carts:

Taste of a Gyro
Taste of Mexican Food - now serving tacos and a 2 lb burrito
Local Motive - tasty local seafood and seasonal specials
Anton's Italian Kitchen - Authentic Italian subs (2013)

South Waterfront news and updates...long overdue!

So much is changing around the neighborhood, it's hard to keep up. Here is a rundown of a few of the things that took place this past year:

• The Ella opened
• Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People, was born
• The Oregon Ballet arrived
• Muselet (lovely and delicious) opened and closed
• The Groaning Board eventually closed, and Al Hawr moved in
• The Osprey opened this fall offering "retreat-style living"
• The orange BikeTown bikes are in the wild, and you can't miss 'em
• A slew of new food carts, including Smaaken waffle sandwiches came... and then the Gantry closed
• Cavalia took over the Zidell lot for the summer
• Wesley Matthews moved away
• Robin Lopez moved away
• Countrywide insurance company moved in
• Orange Theory fitness opened
• StyleFront closed
• RidePDX is here
• Huge cranes rolled in and construction began on OHSU's next building
• What's the Scoop? New ice cream shop in the Riva
• Blue Star Donuts in the Riva
• Heart Pizza in the Riva
• A real estate frenzy

• And WHEN will someone, anyone, open a neighborhood pub? Menu: burgers, salads, flatbread pizzas and local brews and wine... Not looking for anything fancy, just a regular pub fare lunch and dinner, family-friendly, watch the game, stop by after work for happy hour kind of place. I've heard this from so many neighbors over the years, but especially now.