Crime turned Portland into a ‘hollowed out shell.’ Its neighbors are trying to keep it from happening to them

Counties near Portland aren't experiencing the same crime surge — here's what leaders say has worked

Hannah Ray Lambert / Fox News

PORTLAND, Ore. – Ben West remembers when Portland was a funky, artsy "crown jewel of the West Coast" with a great food scene. 

"Portland is a hollowed out shell of what it used to be," said West, a Clackamas County commissioner. "Businesses are fleeing and people are leaving for greener pastures."

Public safety officials across Oregon have complained of rising crime in their communities, but, according to police data, crime is spiking much more dramatically in Portland than the statewide average.

"Each area has different challenges, but what we're seeing in the metro area is absolutely rising crime," Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton told Fox News.

The Portland metro area is made of three counties: Multnomah County, which encompasses most of Portland; as well as Washington and Clackamas counties. "The increases that we're seeing in our neighbors," Barton...Read more and see videos here.