Police tout downtown crime statistics; business leaders tell a different story 

By the numbers, fewer assaults have been reported in downtown Eugene so far this year compared to recent years.

But more than a dozen business leaders and citizens who spoke Monday before the City Council all shared a view that downtown safety must improve.

“If conditions don’t improve, we will consider selling our building and relocating to another part of town or another town,” said Craig Wanichek, CEO of Summit Bank. “This is not a threat, it’s more a reflection of how serious the situation has really become downtown.”

A Summit Bank employee who was assaulted while on her way to work last month shared her story with KEZI. Within days, police announced the arrest of a man on suspicion of assault.

Some speakers at the council meeting acknowledged that they were describing perceptions rather than crime data, but many also shared their personal stories. One woman said she recently had lunch with a friend, and the women discussed how they made sure to wear pants and shoes that were easy to run in. A young girl told councilors about how a man made a lewd comment to her and her friends.

“Every time someone hears of an assault, sees serious vandalism, witnesses someone screaming at a family who’s trying to eat dinner, it sets us back significantly in our efforts to change people’s minds about our downtown,” Katie Wilgus, who works on downtown projects for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, told councilors.

“We simply cannot dismiss these occurrences, even if the data says that they are fewer and farther between, because perception is reality, and our downtown is in crisis,” Wilgus said.

‘Identify what the crisis actually is’

In a phone interview Friday, July 18, Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner said that law enforcement alone cannot address many of the issues affecting downtown, which has a large unhoused population.

In response to the comment that downtown is “in crisis,” Skinner said, “I think it’s important that we identify what the crisis actually is.”

“If it’s a crisis of chronic behavior that feels uncomfortable or feels threatening or harassing but isn’t necessarily criminal in nature we need to identify that, so we can find the right resources to respond to that.”

Skinner said that “in many instances, some of the things that are the most problematic and that create a sense of fear with people are actually not criminal behavior.”

Thursday, Eugene police released data showing 40 calls reporting an assault through the first six months of this year, down from 58 calls during the same time period the previous year and also lower than the 49 assault calls in the first six months of 2023.

Among property crimes, the 34 calls reporting a theft from a vehicle were down by about 50% compared to the same six months last year, though the 91 theft calls were up about 7%.

Police responded to 64 overdose calls, down about 40% compared to last year.

Under Skinner, police have made the enforcement of criminal trespassing laws a top priority. At an Eugene Chamber event last month, Ray Brown, the department’s downtown incident commander, explained the new approach.

Brown said at the event that businesses basically “own that out to the curb line,” meaning that people seeking shelter in alcoves, overhangs or in the rear of businesses now may be arrested.

“Instead of simply moving somebody along — people, generally, they get a warning,” Brown said last month. “And they will get a citation. Then they will be taken into custody. But it is usually a multiple-pronged approach, where we first try to educate and let people know that, ‘Well, you may have thought this was an OK place to sit and hang out, but the fact of the matter is, this is private property.’” 

Police on Thursday said criminal trespass in the second-degree charges, described as “the most common charge downtown,” increased 9% compared to the same time period last year. Also increasing were warrant arrests, up 119%, to 225 from 103.

‘Safety is a perennial issue’

Speakers at Monday’s council meeting discussed fear affecting their clients and customers, including those discouraged from attending arts events.

Randall Collis, chair of the board of directors for The Shedd Institute, a performing arts venue, said, “I have constituents at The Shedd who will not come down for evening performances out of fear of either their personal safety or damage to their vehicle.”

Other business leaders not present for Monday’s City Council meeting also spoke of general safety concerns, though not directly leading to shops moving out of downtown.

“Safety is a perennial issue for downtown businesses, and I hear about it frequently. But I would say it’s infrequent that I, personally, field a comment from someone thinking about moving their business specifically due to safety concerns,” Ethan Clevenger, owner of Porterhouse Clothing & Supply and president of Downtown Eugene Merchants, said in an email.

Clevenger said, however, that how shoppers perceive the safety of downtown affects the foot traffic needed for a sustainable business.

“So while the businesses we work with might not move directly due to safety concerns, the factors that lead them to move are certainly a reflection of downtown Eugene safety,” Clevenger said.

Several business leaders on Monday night spoke of wanting to help with the problems downtown.

In a phone interview on Friday, Wilgus praised the police department’s co-responders program, which has a mental health professional employed by the county accompany police on some calls for help downtown.

“I think the next steps are putting together some highly active, highly engaged groups together through the chamber to kind of break down and get into the nitty gritty, ‘What is it that we’re trying to solve, and how do we do it collectively?’”