Portland’s rampant auto, retail theft will be investigated by new DA teams funded

Nearly $800,000 from the city and Multnomah County will go to hire two special teams of prosecutors and investigators to build cases against people accused of chronic retail theft and car heists plaguing Portland, District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Monday.

Government and law enforcement leaders from across the metro area joined Schmidt to declare a united front against the high level of property crime that has pushed Portland into the national spotlight, frustrated merchants and left hundreds of residents wondering if they’ll ever see their missing cars again.

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said she submitted a recommended budget that includes $418,000 to fund two new deputy district attorneys over the coming year.

“I know with these increased resources, we have a chance to create a ripple effect that includes reduction in organized retail theft, a safer environment for consumers, an improved business climate and less economic hardship across our communities,” Vega Pederson said.

“What we’re saying here today is we feel your frustrations, we share your desire for action,” she said. “We want to see those responsible for crimes being held accountable and we’re stepping up to make that happen.”

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said “all his colleagues” on the City Council support the initiative and are expected to approve his budget request for approximately $370,000 for the salaries of two investigators and one legal assistant in the district attorney’s office.

The city and county money will will fund two task forces – one to corral prolific shoplifters and the other to combat repeat car thieves. Each task force will have one prosecutor and one investigator. The legal assistant will help both teams.

Schmidt, who has battled a public image dubbing him as soft on crime since his handling of social justice protesters, called the initiative a public private-partnership that he hopes will tackle the problem from multiple angles.

On retail theft, Schmidt said he has met for weeks with large and small local business owners, loss prevention staff and police to brainstorm solutions. He expects that task force to concentrate on organized theft operations in which groups of people are stealing large amounts of merchandise to make money reselling it.

On car thefts, he said the team would “prioritize people who have three, four or six stolen car cases.”

“We can’t sit by as these numbers persist,” Schmidt said.

Between 2019 and 2022, reported auto thefts in Multnomah County increased 68%, according to the district attorney’s office. In 2022, 1,500 cases were referred for prosecution and charges were issued in 74% percent of those cases.

Portland set a record for car thefts in 2022, with about 11,000 vehicles reported stolen in the city – almost doubling the number of such thefts from just two years ago, according to Portland Police Bureau data.

Available 2023 police data shows more than 2,500 cars were reported stolen between the first of January and the end of March. Kia and Hyundai models continue to be the top targets.

More than 26,000 retail and non-vehicle property thefts were reported in Multnomah County last year, a 10% increase since 2020, according to the district attorney’s office. But that number is believed to be lower than the actual number when considering that many thefts are never reported, Schmidt said.

“We hear about this every single day,” said Andrew Hoan, CEO of the Portland Business Alliance, the city’s chamber of commerce. “It’s not easy to be a business owner in 2023. …The reality today is that as thousands of business owners head to their shops and storefronts, they worry that this will be the day they’re broken into or their windows are smashed or one of their vehicles is stolen.”

He pointed particularly to Portland’s small businesses, many owned by people of color and immigrants, he said. The thefts and vandalism can push them over the edge coming after COVID-19 relief funds have ended, he said.

The work by the two task forces will supplement the Portland Police Bureau’s investigations and will keep cases from falling through the cracks, Schmidt said.

Police leaders have said they are hamstrung by short staffing and responding to record-breaking shootings and homicides, making it difficult to address the large volume of nonviolent theft. They recently, though, have touted stolen vehicle missions using data analysis to improve their methodology for stopping suspected stolen cars.

A swath of law enforcement agencies have agreed to help train the district attorney’s office new investigators and will work with them on cases.

Oregon State Police Superintendent Casey Codding,…