Portland Police Chief Bob Day on curbing gun violence: 'We're in this together'
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Police Chief Bob Day is urging the entire community to come together to stop gun violence.
While gun violence was down 20% in 2023 compared to 2022, there are still issues that need to be addressed. For instance, the Portland Police Bureau said 43 homicides have happened in 2024, 34 of which happened by gunfire.
"We all want Portland to be better," Day said while holding a meeting discussing PPB's latest crime statistics. "The police bureau is the community, we're in this together."
Despite the 20% drop off in gun violence compared to the year before, Portland still saw an overall increasing trend of gun violence — on average — over the past 10 years. The longer-term issue is what PPB is trying to address, with the community's help.
"Not by any means a victory lap for us," Day said.
One recent example of the kind of shootings community members are crying out against is the one that happened at Dawson Park in broad daylight near a preschool on Friday, leaving two injured and dozens of spent shell casings in its wake.
When asked what police are doing as an immediate response to this, Day said PPB is constantly working with community partners such as Ceasefire Portland. However, he admitted there's still a lot of progress that needs to be made.
"We've certainly seen a high level of death and tragedy in the last 45-60 days," Day said.
When asked why the violence continues to be a presence in our community, Day said:
"Violence, particularly gun violence, is really difficult to predict. There are so many factors that go into these events. So I can't comment to a particular reason."
Day said while police do serve a role, it will take a "community-led conversation" to truly turn the tide.
"It's not going to be solved by the Portland Police Bureau," Day said.
On the upside, Day said there were no homicides in Portland over this past weekend. However, one point he stressed is that PPB would have an easier time increasing patrols in high-crime areas if they had a greater number of officers in their ranks.