PORTLAND — Did you know that the number of residential burglaries in Portland fell from nearly 5,000 in 1995 to fewer than 2,500 in 2013? Or that reported business robberies plunged from 718 to 289 during that same period?
The Portland Police Bureau and the criminal justice program at Portland State University have created a website to give people access to information about crime trends.
Portland State Professor Kris Henning says many residents don’t realize that crime has declined considerably over the past 20 years. Henning says they devour so much crime news they think the city is more dangerous than it is.
He says the goal of the website is to give residents information to accurately assess risk and combat excess fear of crime.
