PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Car theft in Portland has gone down dramatically in recent years, according to the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB)stolen vehicle dashboard.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez credited the decrease to the Auto Theft Taskforce.

According to the stolen vehicle dashboard, Portland saw its highest number of stolen cars in 2020, with a record of 10,900. 2024 had the lowest number of stolen cars since the city started recording this data in 2015, with a total of 5,012.

“We’ve made an impact by going after the most prolific,” said Deputy District Attorney Cody Linderholm, who runs the Auto Theft Taskforce. “Every time we go after those people and hold them accountable... we’ve seen a steady correlation of numbers declining.”

In recent years especially, Linderholm’s task force has been making a difference.

The task force is made up of a combination of law enforcement efforts from the DA’s office and PPB, but also help from the general public and volunteer groups. That includesStolen Cars PDX, a nonprofit made up of volunteers that uses social media to track down stolen cars.

Stolen Cars PDX founder Titan Crawford said in his experience, stolen cars are often just the beginning when it comes to crime.

“It’s just the tip of the crime iceberg when you have a stolen car,” Crawford said. “One offender can be responsible for 30 to 50 stolen vehicles per month, so getting one simple person off the street creates that cascade effect that you’re going to have less crime being committed.”

Individual community members have also helped law enforcement track down prolific car thieves.

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Noble Napoleon’s car was stolen outside of her home in December of 2023. She thought it may have been gone for good, until she saw a tow truck drive past her, with her car still attached to it.

Noble, who was 79 years old at the time, drove after the tow truck, confronted the driver, and convinced him to give her car back.

“He said, ‘Oh that belongs to my friend.’ No, that belongs to me. He argued [with] me a little bit, and I said, ‘you know what? If my car don’t get back to where it came from, you won’t see the light of day,’” Napoleon said.

The man who stole Noble’s car with his tow truck was later arrested and identified as Joseph Beard. According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, Beard wasarrested in January of 2024 as part of “Operation Mistle Tow.”

Portland Police reported that 537 cars were stolen in November of 2023 and 522 were stolen in December of 2023. In January of 2024, after Beard was arrested, that number dropped to 436. In February, it dropped to 413.

District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said it’s because of determined community members like Napoleon and Crawford, and the Auto Theft Task Force, that fewer cars are being stolen in Portland.

According to the stolen vehicle dashboard, if you compare the first three months of 2025 to the first three months of the last 10 years, 2025 already has an all-time low for car theft.

“This is a wildly successful program and it works because it brings in all the elements that I believe the community wants,” Vasquez said. “The community coordination, law-enforcement coordination and then an overall effort to really get at those individuals who are impacting our community.”

According to Vasquez, the Auto Theft Task Force is now at risk of being cut due to Multnomah County’s budget shortfall. He said without this program, Portland is likely to see car theft and other crime start to rise back up.

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