# Crime in Oregon

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] 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. 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:
| Year | Population | Index | Violent | Property | Murder | Forcible rape | Robbery | Aggravated assault | Burglary | Larceny theft | Vehicle theft |
| 1960 | 1,768,687 | 34,970 | 1,232 | 33,738 | 43 | 166 | 563 | 460 | 7,175 | 24,252 | 2,311 |
| 1961 | 1,799,000 | 36,000 | 1,242 | 34,758 | 48 | 138 | 626 | 430 | 7,276 | 24,983 | 2,499 |
| 1962 | 1,864,000 | 38,364 | 1,461 | 36,903 | 54 | 174 | 714 | 519 | 8,268 | 25,871 | 2,764 |
| 1963 | 1,826,000 | 40,362 | 1,393 | 38,969 | 55 | 161 | 554 | 623 | 8,823 | 27,023 | 3,123 |
| 1964 | 1,871,000 | 47,438 | 2,009 | 45,429 | 34 | 225 | 703 | 1,047 | 10,727 | 30,812 | 3,890 |
| 1965 | 1,899,000 | 52,376 | 2,290 | 50,086 | 65 | 226 | 873 | 1,126 | 12,079 | 34,161 | 3,846 |
| 1966 | 1,955,000 | 58,400 | 2,470 | 55,930 | 53 | 247 | 895 | 1,275 | 13,394 | 37,840 | 4,696 |
| 1967 | 1,999,000 | 69,268 | 3,147 | 66,121 | 61 | 248 | 1,317 | 1,521 | 17,140 | 43,515 | 5,466 |
| 1968 | 2,008,000 | 74,978 | 3,955 | 71,023 | 64 | 346 | 1,536 | 2,009 | 18,978 | 46,612 | 5,433 |
| 1969 | 2,032,000 | 85,543 | 4,527 | 81,016 | 81 | 371 | 1,760 | 2,315 | 22,853 | 51,692 | 6,471 |
| 1970 | 2,091,385 | 98,048 | 5,373 | 92,675 | 97 | 377 | 2,144 | 2,755 | 26,632 | 59,082 | 6,961 |
| 1971 | 2,158,000 | 106,601 | 6,335 | 100,266 | 70 | 478 | 2,383 | 3,404 | 28,933 | 63,543 | 7,790 |
| 1972 | 2,182,000 | 110,156 | 6,494 | 103,662 | 119 | 574 | 2,390 | 3,411 | 32,049 | 63,178 | 8,435 |
| 1973 | 2,225,000 | 117,860 | 6,512 | 111,348 | 110 | 653 | 2,211 | 3,538 | 35,772 | 66,494 | 9,082 |
| 1974 | 2,266,000 | 143,772 | 8,326 | 135,446 | 127 | 732 | 2,964 | 4,503 | 41,766 | 83,060 | 10,620 |
| 1975 | 2,288,000 | 154,491 | 10,034 | 144,457 | 142 | 745 | 2,982 | 6,165 | 43,738 | 90,053 | 10,666 |
| 1976 | 2,329,000 | 148,097 | 10,654 | 137,443 | 97 | 829 | 3,091 | 6,637 | 39,587 | 88,661 | 9,195 |
| 1977 | 2,376,000 | 142,256 | 10,830 | 131,426 | 117 | 948 | 2,948 | 6,817 | 38,880 | 83,306 | 9,240 |
| 1978 | 2,444,000 | 148,483 | 12,278 | 136,205 | 123 | 1,008 | 3,204 | 7,943 | 39,523 | 87,033 | 9,649 |
| 1979 | 2,527,000 | 161,045 | 13,781 | 147,264 | 107 | 1,121 | 3,299 | 9,254 | 40,682 | 96,823 | 9,759 |
| 1980 | 2,610,477 | 174,561 | 12,802 | 161,759 | 132 | 1,084 | 3,978 | 7,608 | 45,641 | 106,712 | 9,406 |
| 1981 | 2,647,000 | 186,267 | 12,671 | 173,596 | 117 | 1,105 | 4,780 | 6,669 | 52,067 | 112,518 | 9,011 |
| 1982 | 2,649,000 | 173,973 | 12,529 | 161,444 | 136 | 1,057 | 4,433 | 6,903 | 47,410 | 106,061 | 7,973 |
| 1983 | 2,662,000 | 166,398 | 12,986 | 153,412 | 109 | 1,078 | 4,533 | 7,266 | 46,472 | 98,880 | 8,060 |
| 1984 | 2,674,000 | 166,956 | 13,533 | 153,423 | 128 | 1,201 | 4,508 | 7,696 | 48,755 | 96,742 | 7,926 |
| 1985 | 2,687,000 | 180,830 | 14,807 | 166,023 | 125 | 1,363 | 4,986 | 8,333 | 50,690 | 105,725 | 9,608 |
| 1986 | 2,698,000 | 191,037 | 14,830 | 176,207 | 178 | 1,379 | 5,555 | 7,718 | 53,062 | 112,312 | 10,833 |
| 1987 | 2,724,000 | 189,835 | 14,697 | 175,138 | 153 | 1,247 | 5,338 | 7,959 | 48,562 | 113,907 | 12,669 |
| 1988 | 2,741,000 | 193,479 | 14,959 | 178,520 | 139 | 1,111 | 5,289 | 8,420 | 48,355 | 113,872 | 16,293 |
| 1989 | 2,820,000 | 173,744 | 14,625 | 159,119 | 134 | 1,314 | 4,282 | 8,895 | 40,197 | 103,690 | 15,232 |
| 1990 | 2,842,321 | 160,478 | 14,405 | 146,073 | 108 | 1,332 | 4,102 | 8,863 | 32,273 | 100,765 | 13,035 |
| 1991 | 2,922,000 | 168,165 | 14,795 | 153,370 | 133 | 1,561 | 4,387 | 8,714 | 34,363 | 105,145 | 13,862 |
| 1992 | 2,977,000 | 173,289 | 15,189 | 158,100 | 139 | 1,580 | 4,507 | 8,963 | 32,945 | 109,274 | 15,881 |
| 1993 | 3,032,000 | 174,812 | 15,254 | 159,558 | 140 | 1,554 | 3,930 | 9,630 | 31,072 | 110,878 | 17,608 |
| 1994 | 3,086,000 | 194,307 | 16,067 | 178,240 | 150 | 1,333 | 4,264 | 10,320 | 33,970 | 122,506 | 21,764 |
| 1995 | 3,141,000 | 206,173 | 16,408 | 189,765 | 129 | 1,309 | 4,332 | 10,638 | 34,640 | 133,075 | 22,050 |
| 1996 | 3,204,000 | 192,132 | 14,837 | 177,295 | 129 | 1,272 | 3,914 | 9,522 | 31,664 | 128,618 | 17,013 |
| 1997 | 3,243,000 | 203,328 | 14,412 | 188,916 | 95 | 1,306 | 3,811 | 9,200 | 33,507 | 136,129 | 19,280 |
| 1998 | 3,282,000 | 185,323 | 13,778 | 171,545 | 126 | 1,307 | 3,452 | 8,893 | 30,442 | 123,841 | 17,262 |
| 1999 | 3,316,154 | 165,866 | 12,432 | 153,434 | 88 | 1,219 | 2,858 | 8,267 | 26,749 | 113,052 | 13,633 |
| 2000 | 3,421,399 | 165,780 | 12,000 | 153,780 | 70 | 1,286 | 2,888 | 7,756 | 25,618 | 114,230 | 13,932 |
| 2001 | 3,473,441 | 175,174 | 10,650 | 164,524 | 84 | 1,174 | 2,749 | 6,643 | 26,648 | 123,034 | 14,842 |
| 2002 | 3,520,355 | 171,443 | 10,298 | 161,145 | 73 | 1,238 | 2,742 | 6,246 | 25,696 | 118,925 | 16,524 |
| 2003 | 3,564,330 | 180,369 | 10,506 | 169,863 | 68 | 1,218 | 2,847 | 6,373 | 28,562 | 122,327 | 18,974 |
| 2004 | 3,591,363 | 177,199 | 10,724 | 166,475 | 90 | 1,283 | 2,751 | 6,600 | 30,072 | 117,868 | 18,535 |
| 2005 | 3,638,871 | 170,643 | 10,444 | 160,199 | 80 | 1,266 | 2,478 | 6,620 | 27,621 | 113,316 | 19,262 |
| 2006 | 3,700,758 | 145,168 | 10,373 | 135,895 | 86 | 1,195 | 2,689 | 6,403 | 23,879 | 97,556 | 14,460 |
| 2007 | 3,747,455 | 142,920 | 10,777 | 132,143 | 73 | 1,255 | 2,862 | 6,587 | 22,821 | 94,773 | 14,549 |
| 2008 | 3,790,060 | 134,144 | 9,747 | 124,397 | 82 | 1,156 | 2,641 | 5,868 | 20,879 | 92,187 | 11,311 |
| 2009 | 3,825,657 | 123,255 | 9,744 | 113,511 | 85 | 1,168 | 2,461 | 6,030 | 19,377 | 84,265 | 9,869 |

## 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.
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. The death penalty was restored, again by constitutional amendment, in 1920.
Initially, all executions were performed by hanging; lethal gas was adopted as the method after 1931.
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.

## Notable cases
### Criminals

| Name | Lifespan | Crime(s) | Notes |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Ben Boloff | 1893–1932 | Criminal syndicalism | Soviet Russian communist sentenced to ten years imprisonment. |
| 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 |
| Jerry Brudos | 1939–2006 | Serial murder, necrophilia | Committed multiple murders in Portland and Salem regions |
| 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. Potentially responsible for additional unknown murders. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Diane Downs | 1955– | Murder, attempted murder | Shot and killed daughter in rural Springfield; attempted to kill her two other children. |
| Jim Elkins | 1901–1968 | Racketeering | Portland mobster and crime boss. |
| John K. Giles | 1895–1979 | Murder | Convicted of murder in Oregon; escaped, and was later transferred to Alcatraz Island. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Charity Lamb | c. 1818–1879 | Murder | First woman convicted of murder in Oregon Territory. |
| 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 to be added as an eleventh name on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List. |
| Harry Charles Moore | 1941–1997 | Murder | Second person executed in the state of Oregon since 1978 for murders of Thomas Lauri and Barbara Cunningham. |
| Dayton Leroy Rogers | 1953– | Serial murder | Murdered at least 6 women near Molalla between 1983 and 1987. Also known as the "Molalla Forest Killer." |
| Ward Weaver III | 1963– | Murder | Committed 2002 murders of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis in Oregon City. |
| 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. |
| 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. |

### Crimes

| Year(s) | Incident / victim(s) | Location(s) | Notes |
| 1844 | Murder of George LeBreton | Oregon City | Massachusetts-born pioneer and Oregon politician killed in the Cockstock Incident. |
| 1887 | Hells Canyon Massacre | Hells Canyon | Massacre of thirty-four Chinese goldminers by members of a white horse gang. |
| 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. |
| 1911 | Ardenwald axe murders | Ardenwald | William Hill, his wife Ruth, and their two children were found bludgeoned to death with an axe. Nathan Harvey, a landowner, was charged with their murders on December 20, 1911, but these charges were dropped after one week. In 1917, a man named William Riggin confessed to having participated in the murders, but provided significantly varied accounts that were inconsistent with one another. |
| 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. |
| 1946 | Oak Grove Jane Doe | Oak Grove | Unidentified unsolved murder; victim discovered dismembered in the Willamette River over a six-month period. |
| 1949 | Murder of Thelma Taylor | St. Johns | Teenage murder victim abducted and killed in St. Johns. Her killer, Morris Leland, was executed for her murder in 1953. |
| 1960 | Murders of Larry Peyton and Beverly Allan | Portland | On the evening of November 26, 1960, Larry Ralph Peyton and his girlfriend, Beverly Ann Allan, disappeared, their bodies both being found dead within 3 months of each other. A witness identified as "Nikki Essex" accused brothers Edward and Carl Jorgensen of having committed the crime. Police also arrested a third man, Robert Gordon Brom. Carl was ultimately acquitted of first-degree murder, while Edward and Brom were both convicted of first-degree murder. |
| 1974 | Cowden family murders | Copper | Family of four murdered while camping in the Siskiyou Mountains; murders remain unsolved. |
| 1974 | Murder of Martha Morrison | Portland | Teenage murder victim who disappeared in Portland in 1974. Remains discovered in late 1974 in Vancouver, Washington, alongside another body. She remained unidentified until 2015, Warren Forrest was convicted of her murder on February 1, 2023. |
| 1981 | Oregon Museum Tavern shooting | Salem | Shooting inside of the Oregon Museum Tavern, resulting in the deaths of 4 people and 18 injuries at the scene. Shooter Lawrence William Moore was subsequently found guilty of four counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to four life terms in prison. Victim Dennis Scharf died on January 19, 2013, due to complications from injuries he sustained in the shooting. |
| 1984 | Rajneeshee bioterror attack | The Dalles | Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh deliberately contaminated various eateries with Salmonella, resulting in 751 infections and 45 hospitalizations. |
| 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. |
| 1989 | Murder of Michael Francke | Salem | Director of the Oregon Department of Corrections, stabbed to death outside department building. Murder remains unsolved. |
| 1991 | Disappearance of Thomas Gibson | Azalea | Disappearance of a 2 year old American child named Thomas Gibson who vanished from his front yard in Douglas County, Oregon. Larry Gibson, his father and a sheriff of the county, was convicted on manslaughter in March 1995, after his eldest daughter told law enforcement that she had witnessed her father beating Thomas outside on the day of his disappearance. He served less than one year before being released from jail, starting a webpage sometime in 2001 regarding Thomas's disappearance. Thomas has never been found. |
| 1994 | Leathers Oil Company murders | Gresham | On the morning of January 17, 1994, a customer entered the Leathers Oil Company gas station and discovered the bodies of three employees, found executed. Suspect Tyrom Thies disappeared on February 9, 1994 and has not been seen since. His cousin Lawrence Benjamin Scherf, and friend, Lori Ann Stephens, were both convicted and served ten years in prison for their roles as accessories to the murders. |
| 1994 | Gresham cat hostage taking incident | Gresham | Incident involving an emotionally disturbed 28-year-old woman named Janet Marilyn Smith, who took her own pet cat hostage in a Fred Meyer store in Gresham, Oregon. Police sprayed her in the face with three cans of pepper mace in an attempt to stop her. Smith cried out and then raised the knife above her head, subsequently being shot by Gresham Police officer Ron Willis, being pronounced dead at the scene. The public reacted angrily to the shooting with much criticism being directed at the Gresham Police department. |
| 1995 | Murder of Yolanda Panek | Portland | Murder and disappearance of an American woman who vanished from the Capri Motel in Portland, Oregon on July 13, 1995. The day after she was last seen checking into the hotel, her locked car was found abandoned with her two-year-old son inside, alive. Her boyfriend and common-law husband, Abdur Rashid Al-Wadud, was convicted of her murder in March 1996. |
| 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. |
| 1998 | 1998 Thurston High School shooting | Springfield | On May 20, 1998, 15-year-old freshman student Kipland Kinkel killed his parents; a day later heading to Thurston High School and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle in the cafeteria, killing 2 students and injuring 25 before students subdued him, leading to his arrest. Kinkel pled guilty to murder and attempted murder and was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole. |
| 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. |
| 2008 | Woodburn bank bombing | Woodburn | Bank explosion in a West Coast Bank branch, which killed 2 police officers and seriously injured a third. Father and son Bruce and Joshua Turnidge were convicted of the bombing in 2011; both being sentenced to death row. |
| 2012 | Clackamas Town Center shooting | Clackamas | Mass shooting at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall; resulting in three deaths (including the perpetrator; Jacob Tyler Roberts). Around 8,000-10,000 people were in the mall at the time, it is believed Roberts targeted random people and did not have a specific target in mind. |
| 2013 | Death of Richard Swanson | Lincoln City | Richard Swanson was a 42-year-old man who tried to dribble a soccer ball from the city of Seattle, to São Paulo. On May 14, 2013, he died after being hit by a pickup truck alongside U.S. Route 101 just outside Lincoln City, Oregon. Prior to this incident, the driver had numerous traffic-related violations according to Oregon court records, the jury found the driver not guilty. |
| 2015 | 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting | Roseburg | Deadliest mass-shooting in Oregon history; Chris Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student who was enrolled at the school, fatally shot an assistant professor and eight students in a classroom. He injured eight others; while deliberately sparing a student's life so they could deliver a package from him to the police. After a brief shootout with Roseburg police, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a weapon. |
| 2016 | Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge | Burns | Armed occupation by a militia group of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, leading to a month long stand off. Around 40 people occupied the refuge, by February 11, all of the militants had surrendered or withdrawn from the occupation, with several leaders having been arrested after leaving the site; one of them, Robert LaVoy Finicum, was shot and killed during an attempt to arrest him after he reached toward a handgun concealed in his coat pocket, more than two dozen of the militants were charged with federal offenses including conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft, and depredation of federal property. |
| 2016 | Murder of Larnell Bruce | Gresham | Murder of a 19-year-old black teen named Larnell Bruce who was run over by a member of the European Kindred gang known as Russell Courtier, outside a 7-Eleven store in Gresham. Russell Courtier was sentenced to life with a minimum of 28 years, while his girlfriend Colleen Hunt received a 10-year sentence. |
| 2017 | 2017 Portland train attack | Portland | Train stabbing which resulted in the deaths of 2 men, and serious injuries to another. Perpetrator Jeremy Joseph Christian had threatened a conductor and attacked a black woman on a different train the previous day, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in June 2020. |
| 2018 | Murder of Daniel Brophy | Portland | On the morning of June 2, 2018, Daniel Brophy left for work at the Oregon Culinary Institute, where he was a teacher. Students arrived later and found his body in a kitchen, dead from two gunshots. The death was investigated as a homicide. His wife, Nancy Crampton-Brophy was charged with his death. |
| 2020 | Killing of Aaron Danielson | Portland | Death of Aaron Danielson, an American supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, by a far-left Army veteran named Michael Reinoehl after his participation in a caravan which drove through Portland and clashed with participants in the local George Floyd protests. Reinoehl had admitted to killing Danielson in an interview shortly before his death, claiming it was in self-defense; although police said that Reinoehl had followed and targeted Danielson. Reinoehl was killed nearby Lacey, Washington, outside an apartment in a residential street shortly after. |
| 2022 | Normandale Park shooting | Portland | On February 19, 2022, Benjamin Jeffrey Smith confronted a group of armed protesters and told them to leave or he would shoot them, before pulling a .45 caliber handgun and firing at close range into a crowd of safety volunteers at the edge of Normandale Park in Portland, Oregon; murdering one, causing the paralysis of another from the shoulders down, and seriously injuring three others. Smith was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and several assault charges in connection with the shooting. |
| 2022 | 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting | Bend | Mass shooting at a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon. Perpetrator Ethan Blair Miller killed two men, one of whom was an employee who attempted to stop him, he wounded two other people before committing suicide. Miller had previously worked in a Safeway. |