The rate of crime in Oregon, at least since 1985, has varied from below the United States national average to slightly above, depending on if one is looking at violent crime or property crime statistics. The violent crime rate remained below the national average every year between 1985 and 2022, while property crime generally remained above the average during that time. Every year between 2011 and 2020, Oregon maintained one of the 20 lowest violent crime rates in the United States.[1] However, some of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history were known for killing or operating in Oregon, including perhaps the most famous, Ted Bundy, as well as the second most prolific in terms of confirmed murders, Gary Ridgway, among many others.

Crime statistics (1960–2009)

Reported cases of crime in the state of Oregon between 1960 and 2009:[2]

YearPopulationIndexViolentPropertyMurderForcible rapeRobberyAggravated
assault		BurglaryLarceny
theft		Vehicle
theft
19601,768,68734,9701,23233,738431665634607,17524,2522,311
19611,799,00036,0001,24234,758481386264307,27624,9832,499
19621,864,00038,3641,46136,903541747145198,26825,8712,764
19631,826,00040,3621,39338,969551615546238,82327,0233,123
19641,871,00047,4382,00945,429342257031,04710,72730,8123,890
19651,899,00052,3762,29050,086652268731,12612,07934,1613,846
19661,955,00058,4002,47055,930532478951,27513,39437,8404,696
19671,999,00069,2683,14766,121612481,3171,52117,14043,5155,466
19682,008,00074,9783,95571,023643461,5362,00918,97846,6125,433
19692,032,00085,5434,52781,016813711,7602,31522,85351,6926,471
19702,091,38598,0485,37392,675973772,1442,75526,63259,0826,961
19712,158,000106,6016,335100,266704782,3833,40428,93363,5437,790
19722,182,000110,1566,494103,6621195742,3903,41132,04963,1788,435
19732,225,000117,8606,512111,3481106532,2113,53835,77266,4949,082
19742,266,000143,7728,326135,4461277322,9644,50341,76683,06010,620
19752,288,000154,49110,034144,4571427452,9826,16543,73890,05310,666
19762,329,000148,09710,654137,443978293,0916,63739,58788,6619,195
19772,376,000142,25610,830131,4261179482,9486,81738,88083,3069,240
19782,444,000148,48312,278136,2051231,0083,2047,94339,52387,0339,649
19792,527,000161,04513,781147,2641071,1213,2999,25440,68296,8239,759
19802,610,477174,56112,802161,7591321,0843,9787,60845,641106,7129,406
19812,647,000186,26712,671173,5961171,1054,7806,66952,067112,5189,011
19822,649,000173,97312,529161,4441361,0574,4336,90347,410106,0617,973
19832,662,000166,39812,986153,4121091,0784,5337,26646,47298,8808,060
19842,674,000166,95613,533153,4231281,2014,5087,69648,75596,7427,926
19852,687,000180,83014,807166,0231251,3634,9868,33350,690105,7259,608
19862,698,000191,03714,830176,2071781,3795,5557,71853,062112,31210,833
19872,724,000189,83514,697175,1381531,2475,3387,95948,562113,90712,669
19882,741,000193,47914,959178,5201391,1115,2898,42048,355113,87216,293
19892,820,000173,74414,625159,1191341,3144,2828,89540,197103,69015,232
19902,842,321160,47814,405146,0731081,3324,1028,86332,273100,76513,035
19912,922,000168,16514,795153,3701331,5614,3878,71434,363105,14513,862
19922,977,000173,28915,189158,1001391,5804,5078,96332,945109,27415,881
19933,032,000174,81215,254159,5581401,5543,9309,63031,072110,87817,608
19943,086,000194,30716,067178,2401501,3334,26410,32033,970122,50621,764
19953,141,000206,17316,408189,7651291,3094,33210,63834,640133,07522,050
19963,204,000192,13214,837177,2951291,2723,9149,52231,664128,61817,013
19973,243,000203,32814,412188,916951,3063,8119,20033,507136,12919,280
19983,282,000185,32313,778171,5451261,3073,4528,89330,442123,84117,262
19993,316,154165,86612,432153,434881,2192,8588,26726,749113,05213,633
20003,421,399165,78012,000153,780701,2862,8887,75625,618114,23013,932
20013,473,441175,17410,650164,524841,1742,7496,64326,648123,03414,842
20023,520,355171,44310,298161,145731,2382,7426,24625,696118,92516,524
20033,564,330180,36910,506169,863681,2182,8476,37328,562122,32718,974
20043,591,363177,19910,724166,475901,2832,7516,60030,072117,86818,535
20053,638,871170,64310,444160,199801,2662,4786,62027,621113,31619,262
20063,700,758145,16810,373135,895861,1952,6896,40323,87997,55614,460
20073,747,455142,92010,777132,143731,2552,8626,58722,82194,77314,549
20083,790,060134,1449,747124,397821,1562,6415,86820,87992,18711,311
20093,825,657123,2559,744113,511851,1682,4616,03019,37784,2659,869

Capital punishment laws

The Oregon Constitution originally had no provision for a death penalty. A statute was enacted in 1864 allowing for the death penalty in cases of first degree murder. Authority to conduct executions was initially granted to local sheriffs, but in 1903, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed a law requiring all executions to be conducted at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, the first state prison in Oregon which opened in 1866.[3]

Oregon voters amended the Constitution in 1914 to repeal the death penalty, with 50.04% of the vote. The repeal was an initiative of Governor Oswald West.[4] The death penalty was restored, again by constitutional amendment, in 1920.[3]

Initially, all executions were performed by hanging; lethal gas was adopted as the method after 1931.[3]

Voters outlawed the death penalty in the general election of 1964, with 60% of the vote. Governor Mark Hatfield commuted the sentences of three death row inmates two days later.[3]

Notable cases

Criminals

Name Lifespan Crime(s) Notes Ref.
John Arthur Ackroyd 1949–2016 Murder Convicted of the murder of Kaye Turner and a settlement was reached for the murder of his stepdaughter Rachanda Pickle. He is believed to have been involved in the disappearance of other girls and women, collectively called the Ghosts of Highway 20. [5]
Danford Balch 1811–1859 Murder Convicted of murdering his son-in-law, Mortimer Stump, in 1859; was the first person executed by hanging in Portland. [6]
Ben Boloff 1893–1932 Criminal syndicalism Soviet Russian communist sentenced to ten years imprisonment. [7]
Dallen Bounds 1971–1999 Serial murder Born in Ashland, but did not commit any known murders in Oregon; convicted of murders in Washington, North and South Carolina [8]
Jerry Brudos 1939–2006 Serial murder, necrophilia Committed multiple murders in Portland and Salem regions [9]
Ted Bundy 1946–1989 Serial murder, rape Born in Vermont; confirmed to have abducted and murdered one female from the Oregon State University campus in 1974.[10] Potentially responsible for additional unknown murders. [11]
Robert Lee Burns 1930–2002 Murder, robbery Charged in 1963 robbery and murder of a police officer in California; subject of an extradition dispute between Oregon and California, but died before being extradited. [12]
Scott William Cox 1963– Serial murder Convicted of two homicides in Portland in 1993, and suspected in at least 20 others in the Pacific Northwest. Paroled in 2013. [13]
Diane Downs 1955– Murder, attempted murder Shot and killed daughter in rural Springfield; attempted to kill her two other children. [14]
Jim Elkins 1901–1968 Racketeering Portland mobster and crime boss. [15]
John K. Giles 1895–1979 Murder Convicted of murder in Oregon; escaped, and was later transferred to Alcatraz Island. [16]
George Hayford 1858–unknown Forgery Lawyer convicted of forgery in Oregon and California; falsely claimed to be Oregon Attorney General. Later arrested in Harlem, New York City and Washington, D.C. [17]
Keith Hunter Jesperson 1955– Serial murder Also known as the "Happy Face Killer"; committed at least two murders in Oregon, and is serving life sentence at Oregon State Penitentiary. [18]
Kip Kinkel 1982– Spree killing Murdered parents before committing 1998 1998 Thurston High School shooting; killed 2 students and injured 25. [19]
Charity Lamb c. 1818–1879 Murder First woman convicted of murder in Oregon Territory. [20]
Richard Laurence Marquette 1932– Serial murder Convicted of murdering and dismembering three women in Portland in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first person ever to be added as an eleventh name on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. [21]
Harry Charles Moore 1941–1997 Murder Second person executed in the state of Oregon since 1978 for murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham. [22]
Dayton Leroy Rogers 1953– Serial murder Murdered at least 6 women near Molalla between 1983 and 1987. Also known as the "Molalla Forest Killer." [23]
Ward Weaver III 1963– Murder Committed 2002 murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis in Oregon City. [24]
Randall Woodfield 1950– Serial murder, rape, robbery Committed multiple crimes along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Washington, and California; estimated to have murdered over 44 people. [25]
Douglas Franklin Wright 1940–1996 Serial murder First criminal executed by lethal injection in Oregon. Lured three homeless men to Warm Springs Indian Reservation and murdered them in 1993; confessed to the murder of fourth homeless man. Also committed double murder in 1969 in Portland. [26]

Crimes

Year(s) Incident / victim(s) Location(s) Notes Ref.
1844 Murder of George LeBreton Oregon City Massachusetts-born pioneer and Oregon politician killed in the Cockstock Incident. [27]
1887 Hells Canyon Massacre Hells Canyon Massacre of thirty-four Chinese goldminers by members of a white horse gang. [28]
1895–1905 Sheepshooters' War Crook County Range war between cattle men and sheepherders. Resulted in the killing of over 10,000 sheep and several farmers. [29]
1924 Lava Lake murders Deschutes National Forest Triple-murder of three fur trappers near Big Lava Lake; one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in Oregon history. [30]
1946 Oak Grove Jane Doe Oak Grove Unidentified unsolved murder; victim discovered dismembered in the Willamette River over a six-month period. [31]
1949 Murder of Thelma Taylor Portland Teenage murder victim abducted and killed in St. Johns. Her killer, Morris Leland, was executed for her murder in 1953. [32]
1974 Cowden family murders Copper Family of four murdered while camping in the Siskiyou Mountains; murders remain unsolved. [33]
1974 Murder of Martha Morrison Portland Teenage murder victim who disappeared in Portland in 1974. Remains discovered in late 1974 in Vancouver, Washington, but were unidentified until 2015. Murder unsolved. [34]
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack The Dalles Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh deliberately contaminated various eateries with Salmonella, resulting in 751 infections and 45 hospitalizations. [35]
1988 Murder of Mulugeta Seraw Portland Ethiopian immigrant murdered by three white supremacists; Kenneth Murray Mieske, Kyle Brewster, and Steve Strasser were convicted of his murder in 1990. [36]
1989 Murder of Michael Francke Salem Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, stabbed to death outside department building. Murder remains unsolved. [37]
1995 Murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill Medford Hate crime murder of lesbian couple. Robert Acremant convicted of their murders and sentenced to death in 1996; sentence later reduced to life without parole. [38]
2004 Murder of Brooke Wilberger Corvallis One of the most publicized murder investigations in Oregon history. Joel Patrick Courtney was convicted of her murder in 2009. [39]
2012 Clackamas Town Center shooting Portland Mass shooting at Clackamas Town Center shopping mall; resulted in three deaths (including the perpetrator). [40]
2015 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting Roseburg Deadliest mass-shooting in Oregon history; 10 deaths (including perpetrator) and 8 injuries. [41]

References

  1. ↑ "Trend of Violent Crime from 1985 to 2022". FBI Crime Data Explorer. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  2. ↑ www.disastercenter.com
  3. 1 2 3 4 "History of Capital Punishment in Oregon". Oregon.gov. Archived from the original on June 16, 2006.
  4. ↑ Horner, John B. (1919). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. Press of the Gazette-Times. pp. 313.
  5. ↑ Crombie, Noelle (December 31, 2016). "Inmate convicted in notorious Christmas jogger murder found dead in cell". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. ↑ McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  7. ↑ MacColl, E. Kimbark (1979). The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon, 1915–1950. Portland: Georgian Press. p. 394. ISBN 0960340815.
  8. ↑ Townsend, Catherine (August 9, 2017). "Crime History: Serial Killer Dallen Bounds Killed Four Victims, Then Shot Himself". Crime Feed. Investigation Discovery. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ Holmes, Ronald M. (January 1997). "Sequential Predation: Elements of serial fatal victimization". Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. 4 (1): 33–42. doi:10.1080/10720169708400129. doi:10.1080/10720169708400129
  10. ↑ "FBI Records: The Vault: Ted Bundy". Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ Keppel, Robert D.; Michaud, Stephen G. (2011). Terrible Secrets: Ted Bundy on Serial Murder (Enhanced E-Book ed.). Irving, Texas: Authorlink Press. p. 337. ISBN 978-1-928704-97-3.
  12. ↑ Zamora, Jim Herron (April 27, 2001). "Paying for the past / States argue over fate of man convicted of murder in California, considered rehabilitated by Oregon". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Police: Convicted killer released in McMinnville violated his parole". KPTV. August 28, 2013. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ Geringer, Joseph. "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love'". TruTV. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ Donnelly, Robert C. (2011). Dark Rose: Organized Crime and Corruption in Portland. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 60–62. ISBN 978-0-295-99111-5.
  16. ↑ Simpson, Paul (2013). The Mammoth Book of Prison Breaks. London: Hachette Book Group. n.p. ISBN 978-1-472-10024-5. OCLC 863221636.
  17. ↑ "A Slick Swindler". Weekly Oregon Statesman. Portland. February 23, 1900. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  18. ↑ Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). "Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer" (PDF). Radford University Department of Psychology. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  19. ↑ "The Killer at Thurston High: Who is Kip Kinkel?". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
  20. ↑ Lansing, Ronald B. (March 17, 2018). "Charity Lamb (?-1879)". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  21. ↑ Rule, Ann (1993). "Rehabilitation of a Monster". A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases. Simon and Schuster. pp. 441–75. ISBN 978-0-671-79353-1.
  22. ↑ "Oregon Executes a Killer". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 17, 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Oregon Serial Killer Must Be Resentenced". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 5, 2000. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  24. ↑ Hotz, Robert Lee; Johnson, John (28 June 2003). "Behavior May Leave a Mark on Genes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  25. ↑ Wertheim, L. John (November 21, 2016). "The I-5 Killer". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Oregon and South Carolina Execute Killers". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 7, 1996. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  27. ↑ Holman, Frederick V. (June 1912). "A Brief History of the Oregon Provisional Government and What Caused Its Formation". The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society. 13 (2): 89–139. JSTOR 20609900.
  28. ↑ "Files Found in Oregon Detail Massacre of Chinese". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 20, 1995. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  29. ↑ Tupper, Melany (2010). The Sandy Knoll Murder, Legacy of the Sheepshooters. Central Oregon Books. pp. 2–20, 75. ISBN 978-0-983-16912-3.
  30. ↑ LeBlanc, Suzi (August 2, 1961). "After 37 years, Lava Lake case unsolved". The Bend Bulletin. p. 9 – via Google News. Free access icon
  31. ↑ Gianola, Jeff (February 28, 2017). "Unsolved: The Case of the 1946 Willamette River torso". KOIN. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  32. ↑ "Oregon's Next Executions Set". Eugene Register-Guard. January 5, 1953. p. 7A. Retrieved September 19, 2013 – via Google News. Free access icon
  33. ↑ Rule, Ann (2009). But I Trusted You, and Other Case Files. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 425. ISBN 978-1-439-16054-1.
  34. ↑ Gillespie, Emily (July 13, 2015). "Remains of homicide victim found near Vancouver identified after 41 years". The Columbian. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  35. ↑ Urbano, Mary Theresa (2006). The Complete Bioterrorism Survival Guide. Sentient Publications. pp. 60–61. ISBN 1-59181-051-5.
  36. ↑ "Assets of White Supremacist Are Target of Legal Maneuver". The New York Times. December 25, 1990. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Defense seeks delay in Francke case". The Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. October 6, 1990. p. 5B – via Google News. Free access icon
  38. ↑ "State of Oregon v. Robert Acremant". Oregon Judicial Department. March 17, 2005. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  39. ↑ Netter, Sarah. "Brooke Wilberger Found: Killer Gives Location of Remains to Avoid Death Penalty". ABC News. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  40. ↑ Johnston, Ian; Raftery, Isolde (December 11, 2012). "Two people shot to death at mall in Portland, Oregon; gunman also dies". NBC News. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  41. ↑ Jackson, Derrick Z. (October 2, 2015). "The shameful irony of Ore. mass shooting". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
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