BEND, OR -- Deschutes County prosecutors and law enforcement are very busy. "We’ve really returned to pre-COVID levels of crime here," says District Attorney Steve Gunnels, "Which is bad news."

He tells KBND News the county averaged fewer than two homicides a year prior to 2020, "We had one in 2019. And then in 2020, the first year of COVID restrictions, we had four. And then four in 2021. And both of those numbers we thought were big numbers for us." But then, he says, 2022 set a record, "We had an off the charts number of murders. We had eight people murdered here in Deschutes County, which is an astounding number." But the number of murders is trending back down. So far this year, Gunnels says there have been three homicides in Deschutes County. 

Driving Under the Influence cases saw a big dip during the pandemic but are rising again, "In 2020, the number of DUIs fell from about 1100 the year before, to 700. And we believe that’s because of bar closures," says Gunnels. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz says his agency alone will hit nearly 700 DUI arrests this year. "2021 into 2022 is when we added two specific DUI officers. And there were 692 DUI arrests in 2022, which was, per capita, the highest of any city." Krantz tells KBND News, "We’re continuing on that trend in 2023. We’re really close to the year-to-date same. So, we expect in the high 600s or mid- to high-600s in 2023, as well."

Krantz doesn’t think more people are driving impaired. But with more focused enforcement, more are getting caught. "This is not good news. This is really, more DUIs, more 6,000-pound missiles driving down the street that are folks who are impaired and dangerous for the rest of our community."