Although it's been on a downward trend for a few years, violent crime is climbing again. You can't keep the devil down for long.
"I grew up in the Salem area," wrote another reader. "What the hell is going on in Salem lately?"
Although the city's homicide rate was higher than the state's, it remained lower than Portland (5.38), Coos Bay (18.68) and similarly-sized Springfield, Missouri (5.99).
Coos Bay is a very pretty area, but since there's no work, a lot of folks have become meth addicts. Thus, violent crime far out of proportion to the population. But it's happening all over; not necessarily the meth, but the violent crime. It's on the upswing again. Might be time to rebuild the bunker.
