Sort of what the Clackamas County Sheriff indicted to the public a few years ago.

http://clackamas.katu.com/content/sheriff-blames-crime-increase-max-line

Tri-Met seems to hold the position that crime on the actual rail line is the only factor to be considered when looking at overall crime increases. It misses the larger picture. For instance, if a mugger follows a victim off MAX and robs them a few blocks away that is not really considered a transit related issue?

No one ever drove a car to commit a crime.

"The information we have is more anecdotal than drawn from statistics," said Lt. James Rhodes, a Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

A good portion of the article discusses activity in Canby, Milwaukie, Molalla, the Mt Hood National Forest, and Sandy. The survey hyperlink in the article goes to some HIDTA information indicating that target drug enforcement areas are Deschutes, Jackson, and Marion counties.

This looks like sloppy reporting with a hint of "truthiness".

Reader- no one rides buses to commit crimes. The point is that the ease of fast travel to distant points makes it easier for people to get around - and that means gangbangers. If congestion gets worse as the planners promise, the gangs' getaway cars will be stuck in traffic - not much of a plan there. And who wants to wait for a bus with a bag of loot?

Anyway, we in LO don't have to worry about any of that when and if the streetcar is revived. Ex-mayor Judie Hammerstad said that OUR police can handle any crime related to rail transit (including a future connection to the PMLR?). They must be super cops! If you look at CrimeReports.com or the Clackamas County Crime Map, crime just doesn't exist in Lake Oswego. We really are in a magic bubble out here! Either that or Lake Osewgo just doesn't know how to share (crime statistics). What, me worry?

Clackamas voters don't want it.

Milwaukie Light Rail will mean big debts, raiding essential services budgets, failed planning, crime and lousy transit.

The crime problem is of course real.
But light rail zealots dismiss everything out of hand. $200 million per mile doesn't even matter.

For every reason the majority of Clackamas County residents want no more MAX.

Portland's Creeping madness will drain Clackamas County's essential services budgets by forcing them to help pay for Milwaukie Light Rail.
This will be an act of adding criminals while cutting cops. Both in the Milwaukie Police department and the Clackamas County Sheriff's office.
It will lead to more failed density plans and even as transit
it fails miserably.
http://skytrainforsurrey.org/2012/02/26/portland-light-rail-modeshare-fail/

"Light Rail Ineffective: Portland transit mode-share unchanged despite $2 billion+ in LRT spending"

Drug dealers and buyers (be they gang-related or not) ride up and down the MAX line. It's definitely used for that purpose because I see it. But the train is a confined space with on-board cameras and witnesses, so crime happens off the train.

I'd kind of be surprised if many gangs from central Portland ride all the way out to Clackamas just to mess around. It may have more to do with the displacement of more low-income people out to those areas due to gentrification.

"I'd kind of be surprised if many gangs from central Portland ride all the way out to Clackamas just to mess around."

Well you would be wrong. It's a fact they do. In the first year of the Green line shoplifting in some anchor stores saw a huge increase in shoplifting. The sheriff office saw a 56% increase in calls for service and a 34% increase in crimes at the Green Line.

While crime went down everywhere else in the county.

The excuse of displacement due to gentrification is baseless.

MAX crime is well known among ALL law enforcement system and region wide. It's as real as the $1.5 billion cost of Milwaukie Light Rail not including 100s of millions in debt servicing costs.

Example: The $250 million in Lottery backed bonds will require over $400 million in lottery proceeds to pay off.

Being familiar with the Clackamas area I can tell you that some gang members have located there from Portland. A good number of others come over on LR to visit their counterparts, or to create mayhem (mess around) in stores; Establishments not as quite as crime savvy as those located in Lloyd Center.

Mass transit supporters often get defensive when crime stats related to LR are discussed. They perceive such talk as scare tactics used by LR opponents to suppress those of less economic means from moving about. Building it not only allows poor folks from moving about it, it also provides an avenue for once economically restricted gang bangers to become very mobile. Which would all be OK if the dollars for public safety were considered in the up front costs. But, they are not. Light Rail is very expensive to build and to operate and no money is set aside for public safety. On top of that the long term expense of LR takes away valuable public safety dollars, thus growing the crime problem exponentially. So when TM refuses to acknowledge that crime increases with LR, it just boils my water.

no one rides buses to commit crimes

Well, they do, but it's much more infrequent. You have to show your face to an Operator, and buy a fare, or risk tying up a bus while nobody is moving anywhere. And if you have someone running after you and you're holding up the bus, it doesn't work out too well.

On a train, you can jump on without paying, the Operator doesn't care who you are, and by the time the cops show up at the platform the train is gone. The chance of getting caught by a fare inspector is low to non-existant. There's little law enforcement.

By the time your picture is pulled from the on board CCTV camera...it's been several days - long enough for the suspect to fade into oblivion.

On a bus...it's not quite as easy. You have to plan your getaway - and board the bus, pay fare - and NOT look like you've just committed a crime.

Most of the criminals in PDX drive cars , just look at the map showing crimes everywhere but where the trains are...

Because of this I propose we ban cars , as they are the gateway to criminals getting to your house.

I have ridden both the Max and the Streetcar
hundreds of times and never seen a crime.

Guess what , I see crime in Fred Meyer , in the Mall , it is just everywhere folks , stop with the whining about the trains , we heard you the last 200 times.

billb

Pay attention on this 201st time.
Of course crime is everywhere. There is more of it when MAX arrives.

Every line in the region shows it.

It isn't "whining" to object to the sacrificing of public safety.

It isn't just the crime either. It's also the horrific development that follows, diverting of funding from vital services, the lousy transit Light Rail is and the FACT that people do not want it.

Your advice to shut up is typical for those who avoid the fatal flaws.

Duh?!