The number of verified shooting incidents is a measure of the incidents reported to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) where the discharge of a firearm was confirmed. The number of non-fatal injury shooting incidents is a measure of the incidents reported where an injury, but not death, occurred from a gunshot. These incidents do not include events that were determined to be attempted or completed suicides. The non-fatal injury shooting incidents represents the number of incidents with injuries, not the number of people injured. 

Shooting incidents directly impact the community by causing both physical trauma and continued fear of violence. Verified shootings encompass a range of potential criminal activity from firing a weapon that causes property damage (vandalism) to death (homicide).

The number of non-fatal injury shooting incidents not only speaks to the prevalence of gun violence, but also to the severity. High numbers indicate a serious public safety and public health issue that may require immediate interventions and resources.

The data is used to inform strategic planning and daily operations for the Police Bureau (Focused Intervention Team / Enhanced Community Safety Team) and to inform actions for Ceasefire and other Public Safety Work Group Partners. This community is kept informed through the Police Open Data website.

Verified shooting incidents increased sharply (+198%) between Fiscal Year 2019-20 and Fiscal Year 2021-22. This trend was mirrored by a sharp increase in non-fatal injury shooting incidents as well (+188%).

To address the increase, the PPB’s Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST) was created in 2021 to focus on gun violence investigations. All non-fatal injury shooting incidents are reviewed by ECST sergeants and assigned to appropriate units for investigation. As the gun violence continued to increase, the PPB’s Focus Intervention Team (FIT) was created in 2022 to interdict gun violence. The work of the FIT is advised by a community oversight group (FITCOG).

In addition to the PPB resources dedicated to gun violence, the City provided additional resources to the Office of Violence Prevention and implemented Ceasefire in 2023. Verified shooting incidents have decreased since FY 2021-22 but are still 92% above the levels reported in FY 2019-20. The trends in non-fatal injury shootings follow a similar trend as overall shooting incidents 98% increase.

The verified shooting incident data is sourced from the PPB's records management system, RegJIN. The PPB has a quality assurance process to confirm all verified shooting incidents are accurately indicated in RegJIN.

The PPB collects verified shooting data through offense reports and the associated criminal offenses are reported to the State of Oregon and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Shooting incident data is subject to change as more information becomes available during the investigation. FY 2019-20 is the first full fiscal year of verified shooting data available.

The PPB began tracking verified shootings incidents in order to have a complete picture of gun violence in Portland. These incidents do not include events that were determined to be attempted or completed suicides.

There is not a national standard for tracking this information. Shooting incidents are not reported as a standalone crime to the State and FBI; instead, the associated National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) offenses are reported (e.g., homicide, aggravated assault, vandalism). 

The non-injury shooting statistic represents the number of incidents with injuries, not the number of people injured.

The PPB’s Open Data Site (https://www.portland.gov/police/open-data) includes additional data, analysis, and information on verified shootings.

Link to the Shooting Incident Statistics on PPB Open Data (updated monthly): https://www.portland.gov/police/open-data/shooting-incident-statistics. 
Interactive

Shooting Incident Statistics: Statistics, neighborhood maps, and open data download. 
Gun Violence Trend Report: Comparative statistics and long-term trend charts for gun violence including firearm homicides, non-fatal injury shootings, and non-injury shootings.
Information on how to use the interactive dashboards and meta data for the open data download.