An average of 30 cars are stolen every day in Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – In the first two months of 2023, an average of 30 cars per day were stolen in Portland, according to data collected by the Portland Police Bureau. 

In January, 985 vehicles were stolen and in February 804 were stolen, totaling 1,789 stolen vehicles in Portland in the first 59 days of the year.

The Portland Police Bureau said it is still analyzing vehicle theft data from March. However, the theft rate for January and February 2023 is very similar to that of 2022.

Throughout the entire year, the city averaged 30 car thefts per day. 

In Portland, vehicle thefts began a steep ascent in late 2021. In 2022, there were 10,891 vehicles stolen compared to 6,454 in 2020 and 9,059 in 2021.

Compared to cities of a similar size, Portland’s vehicle thefts rank higher on the list. In 2022, Denver had 15,267 vehicle thefts, KDVR reported, and Boston had 1,314 cars stolen, according to police. 

The Portland Police Bureau said in March that the city ranked fifth in the nation for car thefts per capita. 

The good news for Portland is that the Portland Police Bureau has recovered the vast majority of stolen vehicles. 

In 2022, 82% of the cars that were stolen were recovered within 30 days and 93% of cars stolen throughout the year were recovered. So far in 2023, 84% of stolen vehicles have been recovered by the police within 30 days and 88% of cars stolen within the year have been recovered. 

In a March press release, the Portland Police Bureau said its East Precinct had spent almost 18 months conducting stolen vehicle operations, where officers work overtime with the sole purpose of locating stolen vehicles that are being driven around the city. 

Police said in late 2022, they saw stolen vehicles being used to commit a string of other crimes including child kidnapping, a shooting outside a high school and burglaries. 

Investigators have been collecting and analyzing characteristics of stolen vehicles in the community to discover patterns. They worked with a Dr. Jeffrey W. Tyner, a scientist at OHSU, to review the data and the methods police were using to determine when they would stop a vehicle.

Tyner helped police adjust their methods based on the data. They’ve since gone from finding a stolen vehicle in one of every 31 traffic stops to, on March 19, finding a stolen vehicle in one of every three traffic stops they performed.  

The most common vehicles stolen so far in 2023 are the Kia Soul (129), Hyundai Elantra (113), Subaru Legacy (73) and the Subaru Forester (69).

Among Portland’s neighborhoods in 2023, most vehicles have been stolen in Northwest, followed by the Hazelwood neighborhood, then Powellhurst-Gilbert and Lents.