It was recently confirmed that Portland had five homicides in its first 10 days of July. This comes off the back of only having five homicides throughout the entirety of June. The reason for this is not known, and in fairness it could just be randomness at this point. However, some have speculated that the summer heat has helped tip some people over the edge. Elsewhere, others blamed the homeless crisis and lack of ‘tough’ policing in the city.

Irrespective of the reasons, this isn’t a good look and marks a significant uptick compared to homicide numbers before 2021. From this point onwards, it looks as though Portland’s murder rate has slowly risen, making it a million miles from its previously safe image.

Portland had 5 homicides in June and already have had 5 in the first 10 days of July

— Portland Homicide (@pdxhomicide) July 10, 2023

In fairness, we have to stress that this is the summer, and compared to certain US cities Portland is still safer than many.

With this in mind, it goes without saying to try and keep yourself more safe than usual. This means don’t approach anyone who seems sketchy and if a situation seems dodgy then leave immediately. The good news is that most of the time, these homicides occur within the murky criminal underworld and rarely affects the good, everyday people of Portland.