Stolen Vehicle Operations Continue To Reduce Car Theft, Earn Awards

So far in 2025, there have been 10 Stolen Vehicle Operations (SVOs) based out of East Precinct. Officers from across PPB have participated, and the missions have also included partner agencies from across the Metropolitan Area. 

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SVO 2025 STATS:

This year, there have been 10 SVO missions, involving PPB and nine outside agencies, including the Gresham Police Department, Port of Portland Police Department, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Vancouver Police Department, Multnomah County Parole and Probation, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Department of Justice-District of Oregon.

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During the missions, 75 arrests were made (including 64 arrest warrants serviced), 69 stolen vehicles recovered, and 11 illegally possessed guns seized. Thirty-seven times, drivers attempted to elude police, and there were 12 vehicle pursuits under the PPB pursuit policy. 

SVO 2025 HIGHLIGHTS:

In 2025, the Stolen Vehicle Operation (SVO) continued to build on the momentum from previous years. The program has grown significantly, expanding its knowledge nationwide and earning an international award for its innovative approach.

SVO continues to attract strong interest, with a waitlist of officers eager to participate in the operations. The program also strengthened relationships with surrounding agencies and community partners. Most importantly, stolen vehicle incidents continue to decline across Portland and the metro area, the very outcome that motivated the program's creation.

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IACP Award:

The Stolen Vehicle Operation (SVO) was awarded the 2025 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership in the Prevention of Vehicle Crimes Award. This award recognizes law enforcement agencies, task forces, community partnerships, and other prevention alliances worldwide that demonstrate exceptional results in vehicle-crime reduction and enforcement.

View full size image of A uniformed officer on stage poses for photos with an award at the IACP event, flanked by men in tuxedos

The recognition highlights SVO's significant success in reducing stolen vehicles and its groundbreaking partnership with cancer researchers at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). This innovative collaboration, paired with measurable community impact, sets SVO apart as a national and international leader in vehicle-crime prevention. This is a major honor that underscores the operation's effectiveness, innovation, and real-world results.

PPB Shares Innovative Methodology at Conferences Nationwide

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In 2025, the Stolen Vehicle Operation (SVO) presented nationally, including keynote speaking engagements at major conferences. The team is frequently invited to present and teach at multiple auto-theft investigator and stolen vehicle conferences. In 2026 they will be presenting the program at the 10th Annual American Society of Evidence-Based Policing Conference in Washington D.C. Law enforcement agencies from across the country seek to learn about the techniques SVO employs and how they achieve such successful results. Additionally, SVO regularly hosts out-of-state law enforcement personnel who shadow the operation to observe its implementation in real time, further spreading its proven strategies and impact nationwide.

SVO Published: Leveraging Expertise in Cancer Research to Increase Stolen Vehicle Identification

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This year, the SVO was published in the National Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab, a trusted resource that supports public safety by identifying and sharing the most effective and innovative policing practices, while connecting agencies to technical assistance and organizational support. The article highlighted how SVO is leveraging expertise in cancer research to enhance stolen vehicle identification. This publication is widely read and respected by law enforcement practitioners around the world.

SVO Grows Impact Through Community Collaboration

View full size image of A PPB officers gives a thumbs-up posing next to a man with a steering wheel lock and a member of the PDX Stolen cars group

In 2025, the Stolen Vehicle Operation (SVO) continued to strengthen and expand its collaboration with the community, specifically through PDX Stolen Cars, a community-sourced group of over 30,000 participants. The information provided by this group is actively leveraged by SVO to support operations.

Throughout the year, PDX Stolen Cars assisted in seven SVO missions, helping recover 11 stolen vehicles and demonstrating the effectiveness of this unique community–law enforcement partnership. This collaboration serves as a model for how community-sourced information can be strategically integrated into law enforcement efforts to achieve measurable, positive outcomes.

SVO Pursuit Policy Implementation and Effectiveness

The SVO continues to implement the updated pursuit policy effectively, with the objective of stopping eluding vehicles that pose a significant risk to the community. Recent data shows an average pursuit duration of 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Officers use controlled pursuits to close distance on fleeing vehicles and apply approved intervention techniques to safely disable them. This capability has proven instrumental in the apprehension of dangerous offenders. Pursuits are a coordinated operation involving multiple units, air support, and specialized intervention tactics to ensure the highest level of safety and operational success.

Significant Reduction in Stolen Vehicles Continues Through 2025

Since the peak of stolen vehicles in Portland in 2022, we have seen a significant decrease, driven directly by the efforts of the Stolen Vehicle Operations (SVOs). Based on publicly available data comparing January through September from 2022 to 2025, there is an overall decline of approximately 65%, with an average annual decline of about 30% per year.

The SVO is a unique and highly innovative program that leverages data science methodology to identify active stolen vehicles. The program collaborates with cancer scientists and biostatisticians at OHSU's Knight Cancer Institute here in Portland, as well as the community-based group PDX Stolen Cars. This multidisciplinary approach enables law enforcement to use data-driven insights to inform decision-making around stolen vehicle activity. The program is nationally recognized and has been featured in law enforcement literature. As a result of these efforts, Portland continues to see one of the largest decreases in stolen vehicles across the country.

Read more on East Precinct's innovative use of data, to make fewer stops, resulting in better outcomes.  

PPB extends its sincere appreciation to the many partner agencies and community members who assisted with this operation.

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