PORTLAND CRIME DOWN, BUT NOT RESIDENTS' FEARS, STUDY SHOWS

* A report finds 67% of those surveyed say violent crime isn't serious in
their neighborhoods, down from 70% two years ago

Despite statistics that show violent crime has declined in Portland,
residents' fear of crime has remained steady during the past four years.

And although most residents have not been victims of crime and do feel safe
in their neighborhoods, they continue to call for increased police patrols.

Those findings of a survey conducted in March, which tracked perceptions of
crime in the city and citizen involvement in public safety, were presented
Wednesday to the City Council. Researchers from the Portland firm, Campbell
DeLong Resources Inc., conducted the study, which has been done every two
years since 1994.

"I think holding steady is a good sign, considering the population
increases, but the real goal is to have much more radical improvements,"
Portland Police Chief Charles Moose told the council.

Afterward, Moose said, "And, certainly, we're working as hard as we can to
get our staffing up, so there's no disagreement there."

About 67 percent of the 1,250 randomly selected residents questioned this
year said violent crimes -- such as shootings, assaults, and drug sales --
were not a serious problem in their neighborhoods. That is down slightly
from two years ago, when 70 percent surveyed thought their neighborhoods
were not plagued by violent crime. In 1994, 64 percent rated their
neighborhoods safe from violent crime.

In contrast, Portland Police Bureau statistics show that violent crimes --
murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- have decreased since 1994.
Portland recorded a 10.7 percent drop in violent crimes in the first half of
1998, compared with the same period in 1997. In 1997, with Portland's
population at 508,500, there were 7,615 violent crimes reported, compared
with 8,831 violent crimes in 1994 when the city's population was 495,090,
said Steve Beedle , the bureau's supervising crime analyst.

Residents' perceptions of crime might not mirror the bureau's crime
statistics partly because all crimes are not reported.

"Perceptions are based on everything that you know -- whether it's reported
or not," Beedle said.

And at a time when the bureau has touted community-based policing to spur
partnerships between police and residents, the survey found that fewer
residents have been working with police or neighborhood groups to combat
crime. Five percent of those surveyed this year had been involved in public
safety activity, compared with 6 percent in 1996 and 7 percent in 1994.

"We need to reinforce some of our efforts -- our block watches and
problem-solving groups," Sharon McCormack , of the Office of Neighborhood
Crime Prevention, told the council. "Many people still don't want to report
crimes or don't have a good understanding of how they can be served by
police."

Because of a staffing shortage, neighborhood liaison officers were often
pulled from regular assignments earlier this year to fill patrol beats.
Moose said he has addressed that problem, and he explained that fewer people
get involved with police when "things are good."

But Leo Painton, president of the Portland police union, said the staffing
shortage continues to prevent neighborhood officers from working closely
with residents.

There are 961 sworn officers, and the bureau is working to fill 85 vacancies
before the end of the fiscal year, recruiter Jennifer Lawrence said.

Checked-by: Don Beck