Leveraging Expertise in Cancer Research to Increase Stolen Vehicle Identification
The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is taking a fresh approach to tackling stolen vehicles, leading to a large jump in detection and recovery rates, while avoiding unnecessary vehicle stops. This innovative strategy was developed in collaboration with cancer researchers, making Portland, Oregon, one of the top cities in the nation for reducing vehicle thefts. Thanks to this approach, PPB recovers stolen vehicles in one out of every four targeted vehicle stops, compared to the previous one out of 31.
Understanding Vehicle Theft in Portland
In 2021, the Portland area was ranked fifth in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita, so PPB had a tough job identifying stolen vehicles before they were abandoned. Starting in January 2021, vehicle thefts in Portland surged, peaking in November 2021 with 1,140 reported stolen vehicles—an average of 38 per day. Officers noticed that stolen vehicles were often linked to serious crimes like homicides, armed robberies, and other gun violence, which had a major impact on the community.
Inefficiencies in Traditional Enforcement
To address this rise, PPB conducted overtime missions to locate stolen vehicles. These operations involved marked patrol units, plainclothes officers, canine teams, the Air Support Unit, and supervisors over a 10-hour period. While these missions recovered some stolen vehicles, they also resulted in many unrelated vehicle stops. PPB realized the need for a more targeted approach to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary stops.
Innovation through Collaboration
The key to PPB’s innovation was a unique collaboration with cancer researchers from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Using their data analysis and pattern recognition expertise, the team refined stolen vehicle identification and recovery efforts. They focused on identifying key patterns to determine what to prioritize and what to de-emphasize. This approach leverages information like vehicle characteristics (e.g., a broken window) and driving behavior (e.g., erratic driving or other road safety violations) to develop a list of “enrichment factors” that, taken together, play a key role in identifying possible stolen vehicles. he analysis findings were turned into actionable insights and shared with officers to improve their focus during stolen vehicle recovery missions. This process is continuously refined as new data emerge. The strategy of this approach is to focus on the crime and associated crime indicators rather than characteristics of the driver, leading to stops that are more focused, legally sound, and supported by the Portland community.
Positive Results
The new approach exceeded expectations, leading to a sharp decrease in vehicle stops and an increase in stolen vehicle recoveries. This success also extended to prosecutions, as officers used pattern analysis to build more substantial cases with compelling evidence. The data-driven approach has gained strong community support by enhancing transparency and clearly outlining the rationale behind vehicle stops and their outcomes. This increase in community support has resulted in a partnership with a volunteer-run group on social media, which includes over 20,000 members who help locate and report stolen vehicles in the Portland area.
Authors:
Officer Michael Terrett, East Precinct Neighborhood Response Team, Portland Police Bureau
Sergeant Bradley Nutting, East Precinct, Portland Police Bureau
Sergeant Cassandra Wells, East Precinct, Portland Police Bureau
Lieutenant Lacey Sparling, East Precinct, Portland Police Bureau
Commander Jake Jensen, East Precinct, Portland Police Bureau
Published June 18, 2025