Violent crime in Salem slightly declined last year overall while homicides were the highest they’ve been in 15 years, according to recently released data from the Salem Police Department.
Property crimes last year were the lowest rate reported in 15 years. That drives overall crime rates down because Salem sees significantly more property crimes than violence, which police officials say they have turned their attention to.
The number of violent crimes reported in 2023 was up 34.5% from 2009, when there were 600 reports of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Meanwhile, the city’s population has only grown about 16%.
There were 807 violent crimes reported in 2023, according to Salem police’s 15-year crime report.
Last year, Salem recorded 10 homicides, a 15-year high. Homicide numbers fluctuate year to year, with the city recording between one and eight for most of the past 15 years.
Crime goes up and down year to year, Police Chief Trevor Womack said at a Salem Area Chamber of Commerce meeting on April 4. But violent crime has steadily gone up about 61% over the last decade.
“The long-term trend line is what’s important,” Womack said. “Violent crime has been trending up since 2014. It ticked off last year a little bit. We’ll see if that keeps going, but there’s a steady upward trend.”
The new data comes as Salem officials are spearheading a Community Violence Reduction Initiative, which will bring together law enforcement agencies and community organizations to focus on preventing shootings.
Some numbers from last year’s crime report have since changed. That is due to follow-up investigations resulting in more or fewer criminal charges, reclassified cases – such as a shooting later determined to be accidental – or expungements of earlier charges, according to Angela Hedrick, Salem police spokeswoman.
The 10 homicides reported in Salem last year were up from from eight in 2022 and six in 2009.
Data shows the rate of property crimes stayed relatively flat until 2023, when the rate dropped to a 15-year low of 3,464 per 100,000 Salem residents.
The rate takes into account growth in the city’s population, which has grown from around 156,955 in 2009 to 182,726 last year, instead of the total count of reports.
The rate was 4,010 per 100,000 residents in 2022, and 4,115 in 2009.
Womack said at the chamber meeting that the rise of violent crime in Salem has pulled police work away from other types of crime.
“When we’re saying things like, we can’t respond to a noise complaint anymore, or I don’t have anybody to send out to do community engagement at your event, or if you’re having thefts or some of the homeless issues we’re experiencing, I just don’t have people to deal with that, that’s why,” he said. “You can’t have an organization that’s been flattening growth for 16 years, dealing with these kinds of challenges and still do everything like we used to. So, things are changing, and it’s becoming more all-consuming for our officers to deal with the shootings.”
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Womack spoke to the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce on April 4. An earlier version erroneously reported that he spoke to the Salem City Club. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
