After stabbing, what are Salem Police doing to keep downtown safe?

The stabbing of a teen during a fight outside Salem Center in June — paired with a string of violent incidents at the mall over the past year — has some residents wondering how safe downtown is and if teens are to blame.

Two days after the June 27 stabbing, a 17-year-old allegedly beat a 64-year-old unsheltered man to death. It happened just over a month after another stabbing left a man dead and a 15-year-old in custody. And it comes one year after a shooting injured a teen and sent downtown into chaos as officers searched for a 16-year-old, ending in a deadly shootout with police months later.

Police have put more units in the downtown area and continue reaching out to business owners to encourage them to report suspicious activities, said Deputy Chief Jake Burke of the Investigations Division.

"As our city has grown and changed, and so have the dynamics of violent crime which is being felt by our community members," Burke said. "We understand and share in their concerns because we want people to feel safe where they live, work, visit — wherever they are in the city."

Law enforcement analysts are working to gather specific data on crime — and whether the city is seeing a spike in crimes committed by juveniles, he said. The department expects to have the results by the end of the summer.

"Anecdotally, we can say there is a concern about teens and young adults being involved in some of these (crimes), but until we do more of a dive into the data, it would be speculative to say that it's specifically people under 18 doing violent crimes," Burke said.

Overall, the city has seen an increase in violent crime over the past 10 years. In 2022, Chief Trevor Womack cited a 35% increase in the violent crime rate since 2007.

The department did not have data specifically on juvenile offenders.

Teens and violence in Salem

An analysis by the Statesman Journal of police press releases since January 2021 in the Salem-Keizer area found 20 serious crimes, including arson, murder, carjacking and assaults involving juveniles.

Among these incidents were a 17-year-old caught allegedly with a gun at South Salem High School, an alleged attempted murder outside the Columbia Bank downtown and a robbery-turned-fatal-shooting outside Four Corners Elementary School.

It is unclear if any of the cases are tied to gangs. Prosecutors and police declined to comment on ongoing criminal cases. Many of the cases involved unidentified juvenile offenders, who are only named if they are charged as adults.

The recent conviction of a then-16-year-old in a murder-for-hire plot outside Hoover Elementary School in January 2021 indicates at least one of the crimes involving juveniles is connected to gangs.

Gerardo Trujillo-Torres, now 19, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years for shooting and killing a man during a fake drug deal. According to court records, local drug dealers hired Trujillo-Torres, a known gang member, to kill their associate over a perceived drug debt. Trujillo-Torres recorded the murder on FaceTime.

Salem Police Department's Gang Enforcement Team disbanded in 2019 after operating on-and-off for more than 20 years. The decision was driven by police leadership's preference for focusing on responding to emergency calls and on investigations based on criminal conduct, not a criminal's affiliation.

Salem's gang team had been the only dedicated gang team in the Willamette Valley south of the Portland metro area.

Burke said despite not having a specific gang task force, investigators still track violent crimes connected to them.

"We only know the ages of those that were apprehended," Burke said. "However, as part of our initiative to combat violent crime, we are currently looking at all the data, including age, so that we can make more informed decisions on how to best address the issue of violence in our community."

Fight leads to stabbing, arrests

Just before 6 p.m. on June 27, patrol officers responding to reports of a stabbing found a teenager in a restroom at Salem Center with a stab wound.

Police said an assailant stabbed the victim during a street fight involving "10 to 15 juvenile males" at the northwest corner of High Street NE and Chemeketa Street NE.

The victim was taken to Salem Health with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers attempted to contact a group of male juveniles believed to have been involved in the fight.

Police said one suspect ran and was caught soon after he allegedly threw a handgun away.

Two other juvenile males were taken into custody after police determined they were involved in the fight.

The three teens, two aged 16 and one aged 17, were arrested and taken to the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center.

One of the 16-year-olds is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, and all the teens were charged with riot.

The teens are not named because Salem Police does not identify minors involved in criminal investigations. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

In a statement, officials with JLL, which owns Salem Center, said the safety of shoppers and employees is a top priority. During a recent visit to the mall, there were more private security guards patrolling the property than had previously been seen.

Making Salem safe

Burke said police are working to make people feel safe in Salem.

"People want to be able to go downtown or to the mall or other parts of the community and feel good about going there with their kids and their families," he said. "I know that this is scary for the community."

Efforts to combat violent crime downtown include increasing the number of patrol officers present as well as working with police partner agencies in criminal justice and social services to emphasize prevention strategies.

But the department is coming up against budgetary and staffing constraints, police officials said. The Downtown Team and Downtown Bike Team no longer focus solely on downtown. The renamed Community Action Unit patrols all areas of concern throughout the city.

Community engagement, such as meeting with youth groups like the Boys and Girls Club, is key to connecting with families, teens and establishing positive relationships with police, officials said. However, this work is staffing dependent, and responding to emergency calls often takes precedence.

Womack said there currently are 178 sworn officers and 22 vacant positions. An audit of staffing levels by Hillard Heintze, a Chicago-based risk management firm, found the city would need to hire 60 more officers to address the need for more community policing, connect with residents and work on crime prevention.

Meanwhile, Burke said witnesses, residents and businesses will be critical in helping combat crime downtown.

"Our partnership with the community is also important," Burke said. "For example, we appreciate the community members who immediately call for police when they witness suspicious activity or crime happening: Their quick actions help us get officers to the area quickly, which in turn helps us locate and apprehend those involved in committing the crime."

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem Police look to keep downtown safe after stabbing