PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Data from the FBI’s 2020 Uniform Crime Report published Monday show the number of homicides rose nearly 83% from the previous year.
In 2020, there were 53 homicides reported. In 2019, there were 29. The number of homicides reported in 2020 is more than double the number in 2018 and 2017.
The number of homicides in Oregon also jumped in 2020, according to the UCR. There were 122 reported in 2020, a 16% increase from 2019. In Washington, homicides rose 46% in 2020.
In the United States, the number of homicides increased nearly 30% from 2019, the FBI said in a press release.
KOIN 6 News previously reported on the sharp rise in the number of homicides between 2019 and 2020 in our “Is Portland Over?” series. At the time, data showed the increase in homicide isn’t a problem unique to Portland. The similarly-sized cities of Denver, Washington, D.C., Boston and Milwaukee all saw spikes in murders and non-negligent manslaughter cases in 2020 compared to the previous year.
While Portland saw a massive jump in homicides, the overall number of violent crimes reported decreased nearly 4%. Property crimes also decreased by nearly 9%, according to the UCR data.
In February 2021, Clay Mosher, a sociology professor at Washington State University Vancouver who studies crime trends, told KOIN 6 News it’s possible crime during the COVID-19 pandemic years could prove to be a statistical anomaly and he’s interested to see what the long-term data will show.
In 2021, the Portland Police Bureau says there were 60 homicides reported between January and August.