WATCH: Portland police, cancer researchers crack down on car thieves

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Dr. Jeffery Tyner works at the Knight Cancer Institute in Portland.

"I am a cancer researcher here at OHSU," he told KOIN 6 News. He uses large amounts of data from cancer patients to develop more effective therapies.

Dr. Tyner is also partially responsible for helping recover 371 stolen vehicles, arrest 478 people, serve 494 warrants and seize more than 71 guns in only 42 work days.

"I think their success has been phenomenal, and I think it is wonderful in the real world impact of, first of all, making our community safer, but doing so in a less intrusive way," Tyner said.

The cancer researcher was the unlikely partner for Portland Police Officer Michael Terrett, one of the East Precinct officers working to slash the astronomical stolen car rate Portland has seen in recent years.

"Officer Michael Terrett and I actually know each other socially. We live in the same neighborhood. We have kids similar ages," Tyner said. "And it was through these social connections that we began talking about his concept of bringing big data into the realm of policing and using those data to be more precise and more efficient and more effective."

Before getting into law enforcement, Ofc. Terrett previously worked in computer science and software development. Together, the officer and researcher used data science to make smarter traffic stops.

"The question would be: a police officer needs to make some encounters. They can't pull over every car. They can't pull over no cars. And so there needs to be a question of, 'How is a police officer going to decide which encounters to make?'" Tyner said.

Before collaborating with Dr. Tyner and OHSU, Portland police would find one stolen vehicle for every 31 traffic stops and one illegal gun for every 144 traffic stops.

Terrett suggested in 2022 the bureau take a different approach using data.

Just as researchers notice repeat patterns in patients with cancer, officers notice repeat patterns in stolen cars.

Terrett explained they've established more than 100 clues the bureau now uses to predict the probability a car is stolen. For example, a Hyundai, with no plates, a concealed punched ignition, body damage, and driving on a donut wheel are all red flags officers look for on the road.

"With our program, we're going to document all these things," Terrett said. "Because then we get to see -- are these things still working?"

That information goes to a team of researchers at OHSU who analyze the stolen vehicle data points. Officers are now trained to use this information to determine when to pull someone over.

"It's not the police bureau making decisions of how we should do things and how we should analyze things, what the numbers mean," PPB Lt. Norman Staples said. "It's PhDs and people with science backgrounds that understand the scientific model and how to do that in an open environment."

Dr. Tyner said a data-driven approach is the most rational way to conduct stolen vehicle operations.

"It's the most fair way of doing it, and it is the way of doing it that's probably going to be most free of any prejudice," Tyner said.

Plus, PPB now developed a mobile app they can use in the field to quickly search stolen cars and clues.

The approach has dramatically decreased the number of traffic stops and dramatically increased the stolen vehicles recovered and illegal guns seized.

Ridealong

On May 9, KOIN 6 News took part in a ride-along during a Stolen Vehicle Operation with Portland police as they worked with law enforcement from Gresham, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, the Port of Portland and Vancouver Police Department.

Members of the crowdsource Facebook group PDX Stolen Cars also regularly help police find and recover stolen vehicles. PPB said this is the 18th mission the group has assisted with, leading them to 41 additional vehicles. It's a community effort, as founder of PDX Stolen Cars, Titan Crawford said they can leverage thousands of crime tips on their page.

"Every contribution we get helps and it helps somebody else on the other side of things get their stolen vehicle back," Crawford said.

Dozens of officers worked together to locate and seize actively stolen cars with drivers inside. Informed decisions were made in high-pressure situations -- with potential prosecutions more precise from the data science.

At one point, officers tried to pull over a truck, reported stolen from Vancouver. During a brief pursuit, police threw down spike strips to deflate the truck's tires. The patrol cars backed off and relied on information from officers in the Air Support Unit.

Officers were in a position to catch the suspects if they ran -- which they did. The truck sped into a parking lot, smoking profusely, as the driver sprinted away. Two other people tried to casually get away, including one on a tiny bicycle.

Once all three were in custody. Terrett showed KOIN 6 News foil, lighters, fentanyl, "firearm equipment in here, multiple scales for weighing drugs. And we found jiggle keys used to start the ignition."

During this 9-hour stolen vehicle operation, police only pulled over seven vehicles. Four were stolen, two illegal guns were seized and seven people were arrested. The seized guns had "extended capacity magazines," with one of the guns having an illegal switch making it fully automatic.

When PPB began these operations in 2021, thieves were stealing nearly 1,000 cars each month. Now, with this data-driven approach, the stolen car rate in Portland has been cut in half.

After the arrests

Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Cody Linderholm began going on the stolen vehicle missions to provide legal advice in the field. Working alongside police he helped improve the way officers write their reports and collect evidence, so these cases can hold up in court.

"When you are in the field and when you're riding with police officers and you get to see a stolen car, eluding police going 100 miles an hour the wrong way down a road, getting spiked and then going and seeing the vehicle, seeing the condition that it's in, seeing all the steps that the police do, you get a better mental picture of it," Linderholm told KOIN 6 News.

A follow-up detective was also added to the Stolen Vehicle Task Force. Now Linderholm is prosecuting more than ever, resulting in increased jail time.

Lt. Staples said that is a big deal. "Where people would just get a few weeks and they're done, now they're actually getting significant time."

On average, those convicted are now getting 2-3 years in prison, plus probation.

Because of this work, PPB recently received an $800,000 grant from the US Department of Justice for "smart initiative policing," maintaining their partnership with OHSU for the next three years.

The federal government is studying PPB's approach to potentially replicate it nationwide, aiming for fewer stops and better outcomes. Other cities are also trying to learn from PPB's success.

Eventually, the bureau wants to take this data-driven model and see if they can apply it to other crimes.

"If we can find ways to address drugs or human trafficking or retail theft using this same sort of model, we already have a research group that'll help us through that process," Lt. Staples said.

Officers see a newfound value in data science—because when it leads to community safety—it's priceless.