Portland police shift resources to address rising homicides

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press/Report for America

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As homicides in Portland, Oregon, continue to increase and with resources stretched “very thin”, Police Chief Chuck Lovell announced he is shifting detectives from other divisions to help investigate recent killings. One area where resources are being pulled from is the cold case squad, which investigates unsolved slayings from 1970 to 2019. All three members of the team, two detectives and a sergeant, have been moved to the homicide unit.  Last year, Portland recorded 90 homicides last year — shattering the city’s previous high of 66 set in 1987. So far this year, there have been 31 homicides. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports nine of the homicides this year have resulted in an arrest.