District Attorney Mike Schmidt joined Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Monday, May 1, to announce two new crime-reducing task forces — one focused on organized retail theft and another aimed at auto theft.

The effort comes amid a scourge of auto and retail thefts in Portland and Multnomah County. From 2019 to 2022, reported auto thefts alone increased by 68%, Schmidt said as he opened the press conference at the Multnomah County Central Courthouse.

County, Portland leaders announce coordinated, collaborative efforts to address retail, auto theft.

Just in 2022, more than 1,500 theft cases were referred to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution — an all-time high for the agency. Over 26,000 thefts overall were reported in 2022 — a 10 percent increase from 2020.

“I want to be clear that this work has been happening all along,” Schmidt said.

“Everyday my office is reviewing these types of cases but we want to do more and we know that working together in a focused and collaborative manner we can get even better results.”

Even as charges are being issued now, the new task forces will build on those current efforts, bringing a more-focused, collaborative approach to the work as a team of new deputy district attorneys, investigators and a legal assistant join forces.

The Organized Retail Theft Task Force will work with law enforcement and retailers to address barriers to tackling retail crime, including improved strategies to address the most...

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