Portland Police Arrest 42 During “Operation Safe Holidays”

Friday, February 03, 2017
GoLocalPDX News Team

Portland Police arrested 42 people and seized nine guns during “Operation Safe Holidays” was conducted in December. 

"The relationship between the POIC gang outreach team and GET officers are a reflection of the community and the work we both do around the City to help and serve at-risk youth and adults to stay on a positive path. As we continue to work as one, we will continue to keep the streets of Portland safe,” said Alonzo Lincoln, Street Level Gang Outreach with POIC. 

Gang-related violent crime incidents in Portland were down in 2016 (159) as compared to 2015 (193). 

Operation Safe Holidays 

Over the course of the 10 days of the operation, Portland Police officers arrested 42 people for a variety of crimes and seized nine firearms. Many of the people arrested were specifically identified as people involved in recent gun, gang and/or violent crime incidents. The goal of this operation was to hold accountable those who had shown a propensity for violent crime and to prevent further acts of gun violence, which has an adverse impact on families, children and livability in Portland neighborhoods. 

Operation Safe Holidays was a collaborative effort involving the Portland Police Bureau, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office; the U.S. Attorney's Office -- Oregon; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF); U.S. Parole and Probation; U.S. Pretrial; the East Metro Gang Enforcement Team (EMGET); and Multnomah County Parole and Probation.