TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Krishna Namburi, Interim City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
Improving safety and livability in high response areas: downtown and northeast Salem
Ward(s): 1, 2, and 5
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): CANDO, ELNA, NESCA, NOLA, Northgate, WSNA
Result Area(s): Safe and Healthy Community, Strong and Diverse Economy, and Welcoming and Livable Community.
end
SUMMARY:
summary
This report outlines options for the City to improve safety and livability in the high response areas of downtown and northeast Salem, challenges in affecting change, and potential options to enhance safety and livability of these areas immediately, in the, short and long term.end
ISSUE:
Information only.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information only.
body
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
At the June 9, 2025, City Council meeting, Interim City Manager Namburi indicated that staff would provide a report on options to enhance public safety in the downtown. As a result of continued community engagement and conversation since the City Council’s discussion at their June 23 City Council meeting, staff are providing information on current community-led and City-supported activities to improve safety and livability in two areas of Salem experiencing higher volumes of requests for police support and emergency medical response. These two areas, downtown Salem and north/northeast Salem offer a concentration of retail activity and increasing density of residents.
“Safety and livability” in the context of this report, includes not only preventing crimes, but also fostering a welcoming and vibrant city, where all feel safe, and where local businesses can thrive. Our response takes into account both the need for support in addressing crime (property, theft, and violence) and the needs of individuals in the area.
Conditions in downtown Salem
Salem’s Historic Downtown is a vibrant commercial district, home to restaurants, local businesses, and a growing number of residential and mixed-use developments. As larger retailers like Nordstrom and JC Penney transition to other locations, downtown is evolving into a hub for smaller businesses and residents.
Downtown is also a focal point for providing social services, to meet critical support needs of unsheltered residents and individuals in crisis. While these services are essential, this concentration of services for behavioral health, mental health, addiction, and other needs has created challenges for visitors, residents, and businesses. Visitors may encounter encampments or observe behaviors stemming from untreated crises, which can affect their perception of safety and livability. Primary concerns cited by residents, employees, business and property owners, and visitors to the area include theft and other criminal activity, encampments, unexpected challenging and belligerent behavior.
These are complex, overlapping issues that require a coordinated and balanced response. Homelessness itself is not a crime, nor should it be equated with criminal behavior. Likewise, not every crime occurring in these areas is related to homelessness.
Conditions in north/northeast Salem
The Lancaster area is a multi-cultural commercial hub with retail and restaurant offerings, healthcare services, educational institutions, parks and green spaces, and sports competitions. A combination of local businesses, regional and national chain retailers provide services to Salem and Marion County residents in the area and draw visitors from the region.
Visitors to the area may encounter encampments, experience difficulty passing on sidewalks, theft and other criminal activity, and unexpected challenging or belligerent behavior.
City’s current approach to addressing public safety in the high response areas
The City of Salem provides Police and Fire response to calls, coordinates with Marion County for psychiatric crisis care, coordinates with non-profit service providers to meet individual needs (ARCHES, UGM, Church at the Park, etc.), connects to individuals through Homeless Services Team (housed in Salem Police Department) and cleans public spaces through SOS Team (housed in City Manager’s Office and Community Services Department), and makes referrals to treatment providers, sobering service (Bridgeway), and a limited volume health response (Northwest Human Services).
The City’s approach to addressing public safety challenges in public spaces has changed over the years. The approach is influenced by changes to policies and laws at the State and County level, budget constraints, and availability of resources, societal factors like the pandemic, changes in crime rates, economic development or housing priorities. A high-level overview of related activities the City has conducted in recent years to increase available affordable housing, sheltering, and supportive services is attached (Attachment 1).
Issues that affect public safety
These high response areas experience fluctuations in crime similar to other areas of the city and state. The effects and perception of crime occurring in these high response areas are often more visible and acutely felt due to the concentration of business and people in the downtown and the central role downtown plays on the overall Salem community.
Common concerns regarding crime and code violations in these high response areas include theft, open illegal drug use, shoplifting, vandalism, illegal camping, littering and human waste. While violent and more serious crimes are less common overall, data shows that violent crime rates and property crime (like retail theft) are higher in these two areas than in Salem overall. Both sources of data reflect a broader geographic understanding of downtown that includes the Union Street Railroad Bridge and Wallace Marine Park.
Throughout Salem, property crime has shown a dramatic decline, echoing nationwide trends as are in their homes longer hours as a result of working from home, increased multi-generational families in one dwelling, and a wider use of security technology.
At the same time, the City is aware that not all incidents are reported, with some community members experiencing reporting fatigue or feeling discouraged from engaging with the reporting process. Regardless of reporting rates, residents’ experiences are valid and real-and remain an important part of understanding safety and livability in our community.
National Crime Data for Downtown, Northeast, and Salem
|
|
Property Crime |
Person Crime |
Society Crime |
|
|
2020 |
2024 |
Change |
2020 |
2024 |
Change |
2020 |
2024 |
Change |
|
Downtown |
1,091 |
1,009 |
-7.5% |
200 |
321 |
60.5% |
983 |
1,133 |
15.3% |
|
Northeast |
1,529 |
1,154 |
-24.5% |
179 |
243 |
35.8% |
723 |
655 |
-9.4% |
|
All of Salem |
12,572 |
9,409 |
-25.2% |
1,766 |
2,548 |
44.3% |
6,052 |
5,806 |
-4.1% |
Source: National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS); see Attachment 2: About the data
Behaviors that are not illegal but negatively affect maintaining a safe and welcoming downtown and northeast Salem commercial area include people experiencing a mental health crisis or public intoxication. Many of the behaviors causing concern have a nexus to houseless individuals who live in or near downtown or visit downtown, or live unsheltered in publicly or privately owned areas in northeast Salem, or adjacent Marion County.
Fire Response to Calls for Service for Downtown, Northeast, and Salem
Calls related to individual health needs in each area are also increasing faster than the average call increase system wide. In 2019 there were 26,170 calls for service in Salem Fire Department’s jurisdiction. By 2024, that number reached 33,027. On average, this is an annual increase of 4.8% from 2019-2024. Medical calls constitute the most calls for service (71.2%) during this time frame. The annual average increase of medical calls was 3.8% system wide. The downtown area represents 2.1% of Salem Fire’s service area and 8.7% of the calls. The northeast area represents another 2.1% of Salem Fire’s service area and 9.1% of the calls.
|
|
All Calls for Fire/EMS Response |
|
|
2019 |
2024 |
Change |
|
Downtown |
2,159 |
3,059 |
41.7% |
|
Northeast |
2,403 |
3,264 |
35.8% |
|
All of Salem |
26,170 |
33,027 |
26.2% |
|
|
|
|
|
Source: Incident Analysis - Calls for Service; see Attachment 2: About the data
Challenges to addressing these issues
City budget challenges and capacity constraints. For more than fifteen years, increasing service demands without commensurate staffing increases have degraded specialized police services, most recently exemplified by the elimination of the downtown bicycle team. Violent crime in Salem has been steadily increasing <https://www.cityofsalem.net/home/showpublisheddocument/18424/638097318386700000> for over a decade, while police staffing has not. Salem has the second-highest violent crime rate in Oregon, yet it has the lowest police staffing ratio among Oregon's eight largest cities.
In effect, the Police Department has shifted from a proactive to a reactive policing model, which hampers crime prevention efforts.
Vacancies have compounded the problem; however, three years of record-level hiring have reduced the vacancy rate from ten to five percent, which is more in line with industry standards for a larger police agency.
Organized Retail Theft and Resource Demands. Organized retail theft continues to be a growing concern in both downtown and northeast Salem, often involving coordinated groups that target multiple businesses and require significant investigative and enforcement resources to address effectively.
Community Violence Work Progressing Without Dedicated Staff. In late 2023, following a detailed analysis of gun violence incidents and Council discussion, the City of Salem and the Police Department launched a series of conversations in northeast Salem to foster strong partnerships with community leaders, organizations, and residents to ensure a holistic understanding of the dynamics at work in our city and gain support in creating and implementing an intervention strategy. The Community Violence Reduction Initiative <https://www.cityofsalem.net/community/safety/police/building-trust-with-the-community/community-violence-reduction-initiative> work continues but the City was not successful in recruiting a staff person planned to support the community-led effort (see Attachment 2 for progress report from July 2025).
State Law Changes and the impact on Public Safety. Drug distribution and enforcement in Oregon have become increasingly complex and resource-intensive, particularly in the wake of state law changes such as the decriminalization of certain controlled substances under Ballot Measure 110. While the intent of Measure 110 was to prioritize treatment over incarceration, its implementation has had broad impacts on public safety across Oregon. Soon after enactment, communities experienced a noticeable increase in the open use of drugs in public spaces, along with a rise in overdose-related deaths. These behaviors have strained the capacity of both public safety and emergency medical services, placing additional pressure on already limited resources. In Salem, addressing drug distribution requires significant investigative work, surveillance, and multi-agency collaboration-particularly as trafficking networks grow more organized and complex. The shift in legal framework has made it more difficult to intervene early in drug-related cases, shifting law enforcement focus to high-level distributors and repeat offenders. However, limitations in staffing, access to specialized units, and prosecution capacity also continue to constrain enforcement efforts.
State law limits the City’s ability to regulate camping. Regardless of regulations, other factors such as a lack of resources at the State Hospital, county jails and within our community, limit our ability to affect behaviors. Police work diligently to gain voluntary compliance with the City’s camping restrictions and coordinate closely with service providers to connect individuals with available resources. In rare instances, Police issue citations for illegal camping or trespassing. When an arrest is warranted, the Marion County Jail typically does not book or lodge individuals that have been cited under the City’s Code, due to jail capacity and other factors. While having the ability to temporarily remove an individual from certain area might offer relief, it is clear that an enforcement alone will not solve these complex challenges.
Over the past few years, a lack of funding has resulted in elimination of specialized Police teams (like the downtown bicycle team) that could address some of the impacts of these challenges. Both Marion and Polk Counties’ lost grant funding which resulted in the loss of the behavioral health teams, which was a co-response model of law enforcement and a qualified mental health professional, that could respond in some instances.
Lastly, systemic problems at the State Hospital, from lack of staffing and legal requirements to commit individuals to the Hospital for evaluation and treatment further inhibit the system’s ability to address individual needs, when this resource may be warranted.
Limited Mental Health Facilities and Jurisdictional Constraints. A significant challenge in addressing public safety and livability concerns relates to the insufficient availability of mental health treatment facilities and crisis stabilization centers within the region. These gaps result in individuals experiencing mental health crises who often remain in the community without access to timely, appropriate care. It is important to note that the provision and funding of mental health services, including inpatient treatment and long-term care, fall primarily under state and county jurisdictions-not the City of Salem. Consequently, the City has limited direct authority or resources to expand these facilities or manage systemic shortcomings in mental health infrastructure. This jurisdictional separation complicates coordinated responses to behavioral health emergencies and underscores the need for increased collaboration and resource allocation from state and county partners to adequately meet community needs.
Lack of funding for Cleanliness and Maintenance Efforts. The City of Salem currently supports cleanliness in public spaces through the Salem Outreach and Livability Services (SOS) team, which is funded through September 2025. This team plays a crucial role in addressing debris, litter, and related concerns in high-traffic areas, contributing to overall livability and safety. However, funding limitations present significant challenges. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has indicated that due to budget constraints, they will cease routine cleaning of their managed areas unless a direct safety hazard is identified. Similarly, the City lacks sufficient funding to continue the SOS team’s work beyond September 2025, and limited resources restrict the ability to expand these services. These funding constraints hamper ongoing efforts to maintain a clean, welcoming environment in Salem’s downtown and northeast areas.
Community Engagement and Local Assets. In each area, community capacity for support solutions is evidenced by strength of existing Neighborhood Associations, local business groups, high levels of volunteerism around community-based organizations, schools, and churches.
In north/northeast Salem, conversations with neighbors, Lancaster area businesses, and others continue. The City will host a business forum on July 30, 2025 on the Chemeketa Community College campus. This is the beginning of an on-going dialogue, pulling invitations to area businesses from earlier and ongoing Community Violence Reduction Initiative work and ongoing partnerships with community-based organizations local to the northeast area.
In downtown, as a result of 2025 local business owner outreach conducted regarding Downtown Paid Parking <https://www.cityofsalem.net/home/showpublisheddocument/26521/638785034512530000>, feedback shows that safety and cleanliness are the highest priorities for future funding from anticipated revenue. In mid-June, staff were invited to a Salem Main Street-hosted meeting of downtown area business and property owners to share updates on the City’s activities, and listen to concerns (Attachment 4). Staff were invited to return with a progress report on July 23, 2025. On July 10, 2025, Chief Womack was invited to the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Advocacy meeting to speak about public safety in Downtown Salem and discuss their concerns.
Staff are committed to continuing engagement with our business community in both areas to make connections and build resources for a holistic and comprehensive approach to each area. In addition, the City will be engaging other stakeholders-such as residents, nonprofit service providers, and neighborhood leaders within the next few weeks to ensure a broad, inclusive conversation around safety and livability solutions.
Recommendations to address public safety in downtown
1. Immediate
A. Enhance Police visibility downtown and in Northeast Salem by allocating additional overtime assignments funded by salary savings.
Increasing police visibility in our two known areas of highest risk can be accomplished by leveraging our existing hot spot policing model, known as Intelligence, Communications, and Planning (ICAP).
ICAP is a contemporary crime and blight reduction model that focuses limited resources on areas of highest risk and need. Notably, the strategy emphasizes a balanced approach that includes enforcement efforts alongside community engagement and crime prevention. The model also welcomes partnerships and collaboration, allowing other city departments and organizations to align their resources in support of this effort.
Through ICAP and our recent five-year shooting analysis <https://www.cityofsalem.net/home/showpublisheddocument/21233/638357460757370000> of shootings, we know there are consistently two areas of highest need in Salem: downtown and northeast. As an understaffed agency, we have not been able to allocate additional resources to both regions. Instead, we have shifted focus between these two areas each month. The recent elimination of the downtown bike team makes this even more challenging.
The costs for increased police overtime assignments will vary depending on the desired level of coverage. At this point, our plan is to have two tenured officers work eight hours per day to provide coverage for the two hotspots. We anticipate utilizing salary savings to offset these expenses. However, salary savings are finite, and any increased staffing presence carries a cost. We will closely monitor the fund balance to ensure the FY27 budget is not adversely impacted by this change and will make adjustments as necessary.
The department is currently budgeted to hire 10 additional FTEs. While active recruitment is underway, it will take several months to fully onboard these new staff. In the meantime, using salary savings to fund these overtime assignments would help temporarily provide these services until those positions are filled.
2. Near-term, Mid-FY26:
A. Fund two additional Homeless Services Team (HST) Police officers in Mid-FY26 to expand coverage to seven days per week.
Ongoing discussions to expand the Homeless Services Team (HST) and the Salem Outreach and Livability Services team (SOS) partnership have stalled due to a lack of sustainable funding. For consistent coverage and efficiency, the team’s services should be expanded to seven days per week, requiring two additional Police officer positions. Identifying and securing sustainable funding in the next budget cycle should be a priority.
B. Pilot Salem Fire Department Community Health - Co-response Model
A co-response pilot program will help address the growing need for specialized emergency response in downtown Salem, where many public safety challenges stem from homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues. The proposal is to deploy integrated teams consisting of a paramedic, EMT-basic, and mental health clinician to incidents involving emotional disturbance, overdoses, and other health emergencies while also conducting proactive outreach to prevent emergencies before they occur.
The co-response model offers dual benefits: enhanced emergency response capabilities that combine advanced life support medical care with specialized mental health intervention, and proactive community outreach that connects at-risk individuals to essential services including shelter, counseling, medical care, and substance abuse treatment. This approach will optimize Fire Department resources by redirecting appropriate calls to specialized teams, allowing traditional fire services to focus on their core mission while providing more effective care for vulnerable populations.
The six-month pilot program will operate with one team working five days per week, with costs of approximately $196,302 for Salem Fire Department personnel and equipment.
The program would be contingent on Marion County funding the mental health clinician position. Program supervision will be provided by the Emergency Medical Services Deputy Fire Chief with medical direction from the Salem Fire Department Medical Director. Success will be measured through response metrics, clinical outcomes, system impact, and community safety improvements, with the goal of demonstrating proof of concept for potential program expansion to two teams providing seven-day coverage.
3. Long-term (FY27)
A. Fund eight additional Police officer positions in FY27 to restore a dedicated downtown bicycle team.
Salem’s dedicated downtown policing team should be restored to its full capacity of eight officers as soon as possible. Many larger cities have proactive policing teams in their downtown cores, as these areas serve as economic, cultural, and social hubs. Such teams play a vital role in maintaining public safety, order, and quality of life in areas with high visibility and foot traffic.
Increasing the public safety presence in the downtown offers proactive teams to:
• Address issues before they escalate, targeting repeat offenders, chronic nuisance locations, and patterns of crime (e.g., theft, drug activity, assaults).
• Work closely with business owners, service providers, and city departments to resolve underlying issues.
• Ensure people feel safe coming downtown to work, shop, and enjoy events, supporting the local economy
• Collaborate with outreach workers, social services, and crisis response teams to provide resources or divert individuals from the criminal justice system when necessary
• Enhance public confidence and perceived safety, opportunities to engage with the community and foster relationships.
B. Restore SOS Team funding.
The Salem Outreach and Livability Services (SOS) team was formed in 2022 to address unsheltered homelessness and related community concerns. The team includes five Community Services staff who work in partnership with the Salem Police Department’s Homeless Services Team. Their role is to mitigate debris across the city, including in downtown parks and public rights-of-way. Beginning July 1, 2026, this team is without a sustainable funding source. With additional sustainable funding, this team could be expanded to provide seven-day per week coverage. The estimated cost for the SOS Team at current staffing levels for FY27 is $974,571. If the SOS were expanded in FY27, by adding three parks maintenance operators, a parks project coordinator, and additional truck and an additional skid steer, the total cost would be approximately $1,755,463 ($185,000 of which would be one-time costs for equipment).
Please note that the viability of a near mid-term and Long-Term solutions will depend on projected revenues and the overall financial forecast for the General Fund.
Possibilities for future funding to support safety and livability in downtown and northeast Salem
Immediate next steps to increase public safety in downtown can be accomplished within existing funding allocations, relying on additional overtime assignments funded by salary savings. A mid-FY26 review of progress would occur in alignment with the Budget Committee’s receipt of the five-year financial forecast. This mid-FY26 check-in offers insights into progress on other, related initiatives which may provide additional funding for increasing safety and livability of the downtown - including downtown paid parking, possibility of reinvesting a portion of EMS revenue following City provision of EMS after July 1, 2025. Staff anticipate revenue shifts following urban renewal closures and the possibility of Capitol District funding. Other options to consider is to increase funding capacity for these types of services may include an economic improvement district or downtown improvement district.
• Transition to Paid On-Street Parking. The transition from a downtown business-paid parking tax to paid on-street parking is expected to return additional revenue to support additional safety and cleanliness services in downtown. The transition occurred in mid-July and, while early returns suggest an improving revenue picture for much-needed services, we expect to have more insight by the September 15, 2025 Work Session, with a more confident forecast by January 1, 2026.
• Transition to City-provided EMS. The transition to City-provided EMS services occurred July 1, 2025. We’ll know more about performance against projected revenues by the September 15, 2025 Work Session, with a more confident forecast by January 1, 2026. Salem Fire will return with a report on the EMS transition at an October 20, 2025 Work Session.
• Urban Renewal district closures return resources to General Fund. The City has eight (8) urban renewal areas of which seven (7) are collecting tax increment. As of the most recent audit for the URA for fiscal year 2023, the City of Salem would have received over $5.5M annually in revenue for the General Fund if the URAs were closed. Urban renewal areas are not allowed to close while there is still debt outstanding. Currently, both Riverfront Downtown and the Mill Creek URAs have long-term debt. If all of the other URAs were to have closed less these two, the City would have collected just under $3.2M (Source: 2025 Budget Committee Q&A).
• Capitol District funding proposal. Our proposal for on-going support for public safety services at the State Capitol District was not successful in the 2025 Legislative Session. The City will continue to pursue direct funding support, in the form of an annual payment, for Salem’s Fire, Emergency Medical Services, and Police who respond to emergencies where people or property are in danger from fire, physical threat, or experiencing a health emergency. State-owned properties represent approximately 8% of the area within the City limits and at least $1.65 billion in real market value, or $1.26 billion in assessed valuation (2022). The approximate amount - if the State-owned properties were on the tax rolls - would be $7.25 million annually.
BACKGROUND:
At the June 9, 2025, City Council meeting, Mayor Julie Hoy indicated she would bring a motion at the June 23, 2025, meeting to direct staff to report on ways to increase police presence in the downtown to improve public safety. This report is responsive to that request, provides more comprehensive information concerning public safety and livability in the downtown, and reflects results of additional community engagement and concern for both downtown and northeast Salem.
Courtney Knox Busch
Chief Strategy Officer
Attachments:
1. City of Salem Safety Plan - Community Violence Reduction Initiative, June 17, 2025.
2. About the data: National Crime Data and Fire response to calls for service for Downtown and Northeast Salem
3. Activities to increase available affordable housing, sheltering, and supportive services.
4. Feedback from the June 18, 2025, State of Downtown event sponsored and organized by Salem Main Street (added as an addition after the event occurred).