Crime is at a higher level now than it was before the pandemic, but in 2022 it is decreasing toward more normal levels. Portland’s rate is still higher than the average over the last couple of decades, but that’s not a reasonable comparison; to do that, you have to factor in the pandemic bump. A highly touted bridge improvement project taken on by a contractor aimed at reducing crime through job creation might be the biggest bright spot.
Across all major crimes, according to police reports, Portland crime has risen a little in recent years but not a lot. Crime has a causal connection to poverty studies have shown. But, it has been worse before. Between 1991 and 2014, the national murder rate plummeted by more than 50 percent, from 9.8 to 4.4 killings per 100,000 people. By comparison, the murder rate for 2020 stood at around 6.5 — a rate last seen in the late 1990s but still well below the high point of the last quarter century.
In an interview Raimore Construction founder Jeff Moreland was asked about a project delay that was being talked about more than a year ago. He said that project delays mean death to poor people looking to earn a living wage but can’t.
Just recently in Portland there was a deadly shooting that left AK-47 and 9mm shell casings. If the man from that shooting dies and it is determined to be a homicide, it would mark the 83rd in Portland so far this year. The city is on track to surpass the record-setting 92 homicides of 2021.
Raimore Construction, a certified disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) and minority-owned business, recently completed all major work on the Outer Division Safety Project. It’s important to know that DBEs are businesses owned by women or minorities at a level of at least 51 percent.
Future successes for Portland may be traced one day to the big projects that provide living wages and subcontractor opportunities. If success has clues, Raimore may be the company to observe in the coming months. It has shown that DBEs do spread the wealth to minorities and poor people who are usually shut out.
For instance, Raimore Construction company was awarded a $175M contract from TriMet in 2018 that set records for DBE participation (84 percent), including 50 percent of self-performed work by Raimore itself. In addition, another 34 percent of the work was completed by DBE subcontractors. Raimore is a prime contractor of the one billion dollar Rose Quarter Improvement Project. The project is gearing up to be a great undertaking that many hope will decrease the crimes and tragedies often associated with poverty in Portland, Oregon.
