Edmiston

HERMISTON — Hermiston and Milton-Freewater had the highest number of car thefts in 2022 in Umatilla County, and the county had the highest car theft rate in Northeast Oregon.

That’s based on data from local law enforcement in Umatilla, Wallowa, Baker, Union and Morrow counties, which shows the number of car thefts in Eastern Oregon tends to increase with population size.

Of those five counties, Umatilla County had the highest number of reported car thefts in 2022, with the county sheriff’s office showing 114 reports of car theft. Morrow County had the highest rate of car theft at 366 thefts per 100,000 people, based on U.S. Census data.

By the same calculation, using sheriff’s office numbers, Umatilla County had 142 car thefts per 100,000 people. That number does not include data from city police departments in the county.

Hermiston and Milton-Freewater came out as No. 1 and No. 2 for car thefts in Umatilla County. The Hermiston Police Department’s 2022 annual report showed 49 car thefts that year, or 245 thefts per 100,000 people, and the Milton-Freewater Police Department reported 36 car thefts in 2022, or 508 thefts per 100,000 people.

The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office also reported 49 car thefts in the Hermiston area in 2022, and 41 thefts for Milton-Freewater.

Umatilla County Sheriff’s Capt. Paul Wolverton said Milton-Freewater’s higher population and location on the state border — near the more populated communities of Walla Walla and College Place — result in “somewhat higher” crime.

“We have people that steal from one side or the other, and then transport the stolen goods to the other side,” Wolverton said. “Makes it more difficult for law enforcement to prevent and be more proactive, in that aspect.”

Hermiston is the most populated municipal area in Umatilla County, but it also has a large rural area with industry. Wolverton said a trend of stolen vehicle cases in the Hermiston and Milton-Freewater areas includes vehicles being stolen as part of other crimes, such as a construction site vehicle being stolen to transport stolen materials from the site.

Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston said the number of stolen vehicles tends to ebb and flow, noting that 15 years ago there was one individual responsible for all Hermiston’s car thefts. He said offenders or criminals look for opportunities.

In the past there have been criminal rings targeting specific vehicles, Edmiston said, but most of what Hermiston experiences is crimes of opportunity.

Oregon had the fourth highest rate of car theft in 2022, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent and fight insurance crime.

According to the bureau’s October report, Oregon’s car theft rate in 2022 was 541 thefts per 100,000 residents — an increase from the previous year’s rate of 475 per 100,000 residents. Data from the FBI shows a similar rate for Oregon, with 551 thefts per 100,000 residents in 2022.

Morrow County had the second highest number of car thefts in Northeast Oregon in 2022, with the sheriff’s office showing 40 reported car thefts and the Boardman Police Department showing five reported car thefts. Combining the sheriff’s office and Boardman PD numbers, that is 366 thefts per 100,000 people.

Union County had the next highest rate of car theft at 191 thefts per 100,000 people, or 50 thefts in 2022, based on data from the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the La Grande Police Department.

Baker County had a rate of 112 thefts per 100,000, or a total of 19 thefts in 2022 data, per data from the Baker City Police Department and the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

Wallowa County had a considerably lower car theft rate in 2022. The Wallowa Sheriff’s Office reported four total thefts, and the Enterprise Police Department showed one theft. Combined, that is rate of 65 thefts per 100,000 people.

With thieves often looking for an easy target, Boardman Police Capt. Loren Dieter and Wolverton recommend keeping vehicles locked and valuables out of sight. This is particularly relevant during the colder months when residents will warm up vehicles, leaving them running and unattended.

“Even locking (the vehicle), somebody can break your window, jump in, and take off pretty quickly if your keys are in it,” Dieter said. Wolverton said it’s less common for cars to be hot-wired like in movies, and more common for thieves to steal cars with keys inside them, locked or not.

Wolverton said one way to protect warming-up vehicles is to keep them in the garage, with the garage door partially open to prevent a build-up of carbon monoxide.

He also recommended going out during normal business hours as much as possible, and if going somewhere at night, to park in a visible, lighted area. Parking near surveillance cameras is also a criminal deterrent, Wolverton said, as many criminals know which businesses have cameras and what areas the cameras capture.