What the Numbers Show About Public Safety in West Salem
By Paul Tigan, Ward 1 City Councilor, For The West Side Newspaper
A few recent incidents in West Salem have put public safety on residents' minds. The City Council recently received a detailed update from the Salem Police Department on their work in West Salem, and I want to share that information and some perspective along with it.
Context matters here: incidents like last month's shooting off Taggart and Wallace remain rare in West Salem and Salem overall. When they happen, they're taken seriously and investigated with the department's full resources — in this case, the alleged shooter was swiftly arrested — but one incident isn't a fair measure of day-to-day reality, and the broader data backs that up.
Patrol presence is strong
West Salem has 24-hour police coverage, often with multiple officers on duty at once west of the Willamette. Beyond city limits, Salem Police coordinate closely with the Polk County Sheriff's Office through a standing monthly meeting between the two agencies, and in an emergency, whichever agency is closest responds first — jurisdiction lines don't slow that down.
Wallace Marine Park: real, measurable change
There is an ongoing community conversation about the present and future of Wallace Marine Park. Since January 2026, the council has expanded the Homeless Services Team, along with the Clean Team, to seven-day-a-week coverage. Comparing the first half of this year to the same period in 2025: individuals contacted are up 80%, referrals are up 101%, and structures addressed are up 73%. Active tents and structures have dropped from roughly 450 in 2022 to fewer than 40 today, and in May alone crews removed about 77 tons of trash — more than double a typical month. Police also report a 40% drop in criminal activity in the park over that same period.
But let's be clear: not every part of what happens in Wallace Marine Park is a problem for police alone to solve. We'll keep working with Polk and Marion counties, the State of Oregon, and service providers to connect people to the pathways out of homelessness the people of Oregon have invested heavily in.
Justice for victims and their families
Residents may recall an August 2025 homicide in Wallace Marine Park. Joseph Wirkkala was recently convicted of murdering Jacob Collazo and sentenced to life with a minimum of 32.5 years before parole eligibility — a reminder that violent crime here is met with real consequences through strong enforcement partnerships, in this case between the Salem Police Department and our partners at the Polk County District Attorney’s Office and the State of Oregon Major Crimes unit.
Reporting makes the response better
Call 911 for crimes in progress or life-saving response. For everything else, the City's online platform — https://www.cityofsalem.net/community/safety/police/crime-and-other-police-reports/file-a-police-report-online — helps the department track trends across Salem. Officers can't respond to patterns they don't know about, and reporting is one of the most concrete ways residents shape where patrol attention goes.
Where this leaves us
West Salem is a priority for the City of Salem: patrol coverage is strong, the Wallace Marine Park numbers show real progress, and the department is following through. As your representative in Ward 1, I will work with my fellow councilors to ensure that the investments we are making to improve public safety outcomes are having the intended effect. If they are, increasing the investment makes sense. I think we are on the right path.