Crime in Oregon (Portland, Eugene, Sherwood: spring break, fingerprinting, crime rate)

[LindaWH]

I'm trying to decide between taking a job offer in Newport/ Lincoln City or to pursue other options in Portland. I'm very attracted to the coastal area, but notice that the crime index is quite high, even higher than in Portland. Any explanations or opinions on the safety of the central coast for a single woman living alone?

[manzanite]

The reported crime rates on the Oregon Coast can be quite misleading due to the tiny population numbers involved. My sleepy little Coastal resort town of 600 has what appears to be higher crime rates than Portland, but that is definitely not reality, it is only due to our tiny population. A couple of rowdy campers at the State Park and bingo, our crimes per 1000 population statistic goes through the roof. This is a very real example of a case where the statistics don't tell the whole story.

[haggardhouseelf]

We lived in Eugene, Oregon for three years - and are moving back in about two weeks! yay! - and spent quite a lot of time on the coast (every weekend that we could get away and then some...)... We have two children... We've always felt very safe and even warmly welcomed on the coast. Every bit of it. We've met the nicest people, and had some of the best food of our lives.

I think the only thing I might tell someone to really think about, before choosing to live on the coast, would be to get used to winds. There are breaks from it from time to time, but it's definitely a more windy environment than what most people who have lived mostly inland are used to.

As far as crime, though, I wouldn't worry too much. Just use the same sort of common sense like you would use anywhere else - lock your car and home doors and windows, don't leave anything out in the open... and if you are a single woman regardless of where you are you should probably try not to walk around after dark alone too much in places that aren't very well lit or well populated. I don't mean to scare you, but just as a woman who has been through some things and learned some things... it's better to be safe than sorry.

[tiffela74]

well, i must admit, for the first time in my life, we experienced crime first hand here about a week ago....bout 3am, we awoke to the dogs barking, my husband did a house search, and in looking out a window saw something unusual...so he went to another window, and came face to face w/some creep going through our garage!!!! Well, he started shouting, the burgler ran, and I called 911. Let me tell ya, we had more cops here in less time than it took me to breathe. Literally within about 2 minutes, we had officers here at the house, and others patroling the neighborhood w/search lights! give another couple minutes, and they had 2 search dogs here and another unit taping stuff aside for fingerprinting!! AMAZING!!! Add to this, they caught the .........jerk.....in under 30minutes. It was quite the show! Im beyond impressed w/our local pd now!
Stuff like this makes the news. It would NOT have made the news, nor would we have gotten such a huge response back in the Portland area...
so yes, there is crime here, but its nothing like it is in some of the larger areas, thats for sure!!! Plus, you have the benefit of knowing so many people, i had people coming up to me the next day asking me about it, because they had heard it through another source! Anyhow, lots more people connections helps....people in smaller towns tend to know more who the trouble makers are.....
We're not Mayberry, but we're not Crime Central either.
Good advice from HaggardHouseelf btw! Take it, heed it, live it.
Tiffany

[rainsmith]

^^^ Wow, Tiffany, thats scary. The coast area is very safe and I would think most crime is committed by outsiders since there are alot of tourists, teens on spring break etc. When looking at the crime stats I would look at the breakdown of petty crimes vs violent crimes. If there are alot of recorded crimes it could be that the law is just extra diligent there. I would never think Ptld has less crime that the coast. The poorer rural areas may have some meth issues but that is true all over Oregon.

[LindaWH]

Thanks for the responses...the wind is an issue, and glad you mentioned it. I have been thinking that a more inland housing situation might be best for that reason (Toledo, Siletz?). Anyway, I feel much safer after reading your replies. Tiffany, it sounds like it was scary, but reassuring in some ways that you could get help so quickly. I'm really excited about moving to the area, and have a very good feeling about it.

Linda

[auntierie]

Originally Posted by LindaWH

I'm trying to decide between taking a job offer in Newport/ Lincoln City or to pursue other options in Portland. I'm very attracted to the coastal area, but notice that the crime index is quite high, even higher than in Portland. Any explanations or opinions on the safety of the central coast for a single woman living alone?

I own a home in Lincoln City and have felt very safe there. Always. Actually trying to decide if the gorgeous coast is enough to keep me occupied if I move there. I have a friend who lives alone in Sherwood (horse property) and she is impressed by the safety factor.

Actually, weighing an eventual move to San Diego (North) or a combination of both.

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by Spec 1

...the officer responding showed me how to steal a 1990-2002 Acura/Honda with only a flat-head screwdriver in under a minute.

Not if they're shooting children who're pinned to the ground.

Who needs keys? I got this from KATU news:

"Here is a Top 10 list of Oregon's most stolen vehicles, according to NICB:

1. 1992 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1990 Toyota Camry
4. 1990 Acura Integra
5. 1996 Subaru Legacy
6. 1993 Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee
7. 1995 Saturn
8. 1999 Ford F150 Pickup
9. 1991 Ford Explorer
10. 1986 Toyota Pickup 4x2"

Re. 'shooting children'. An out-of-control "child" (who's maybe 150+ lbs?) who violently resisted arrest, who was excluded from Max, who was with a group of known gang members who were trying to start a fight. She was given repeated warnings to stop resisting arrest; she was repeatedly warned that she would be shot with a bean bag if she continued to fight.

I suppose the police should've called in a counselor for her before trying to enforce the law.

Sorry, but when she attacked the officer and continued to fight, she lost any shred of sympathy I might have had for her.

[brubaker]

Seaside, OR -------------16.1
Portland, OR -------------3.7
National ------------------7


(Crime Compare)

And another site (Sperling) ranks it right up there with Denver and Portland.
For a tiny little o' metro one tenth (if that) the size of these big guys...why so much crime?

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong numbers?
//www.city-data.com/city/Seaside-Oregon.html
What is going on? Hmmm...


HATE CRIME ATTACK IN SEASIDE TWO BEATEN UNCONSCIOUS
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...840.xml&coll=7

Any opinions? Is there more than average crime in Seaside?

Thanks.

[backdrifter]

Hmm. I don't think so. A good friend of mine is originally from Seaside and I've spent some time there and it really seems to be a very sleepy place. I mean, it's on the coast for crying out loud.

And yes, it does look like you are looking at the wrong statistic. If you look at the C-D profile, it looks like it's crime rate is slightly higher than average, as is the norm in almost the entire Pacific Northwest due to higher property crime rates (though lower violent crime rates). It looks like maybe you're looking at the murder per 100,000 people statistic.

3.7 murders per 100,000 people would mean there were 21 murders in Portland, since Portland is a city of about 575,000. And, for a big American city, that's not a lot. If you translate that 16.1 per 100,000 to Seaside's approximately 6,000 people, that means there was 1 murder that year. Just one. And that is a BIG deal in a sleepy, little coastal community, and was probably a crime where the victim and the perpetrator knew each other well and/or a crime of passion, not a random act of violene or a gang-related shooting or something like that that you'd typically find in a larger city.

And the hate crime? That could happen anywhere. It happens even here in Portland. It just happened to happen to these two people when they were in Seaside.

Anywhere in Oregon is relatively free of violent crime. Not totally free of it, but compared to practically any state to the south or east of us, we're sitting pretty.