Arizona Crime Data Shows Crime Down, Tucson Maintains “Most Dangerous” Status

Crime in Maricopa County continues to fall by a greater margin than the nation as a whole, while the city of Tucson is maintaining its status as the most dangerous town in Arizona, according to the latest data released by the Arizona Department of Public Safety Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In its annual report, Crime in the United States, 2014, the FBI notes the number violent crimes in the U.S. fell 0.2 percent and Arizona followed the trend.

Last year while the number of property crimes dropped 4.3 percent, over the same period, Maricopa County saw a 3.8 percent drop in violent crime and a 5.5 percent drop in property offenses, according to figures compiled by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Crime in Arizona 2014.

The drop in the rate of offenses per 100,000 inhabitants in Maricopa County also outpaced national figures, with the violent crime rate falling 5.6 percent compared to a 1 percent decline in the U.S., and the property crime rate falling 7.2 percent countywide compared to a 5 percent decline in the nation as a whole.

While the county’s overall rate of crime is comparably higher than the U.S., Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery pointed to several important risk factors specific to Maricopa County that contribute to this difference. “As a border state, Arizona experiences disproportionate criminal impacts related to illegal immigration, human smuggling and drug trafficking. Our success in reducing crime by a greater margin than the U.S. as a whole is all the more remarkable when viewed in this context.”

In August, the Tucson Police Department received notification from DPS that the city’s Uniformed Crime Report (UCR) and National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data would not appear in the FBI’s publication. According to Colonel Frank Milstead, Director DPS, met or exceeded all time lines and submission requirements as outlined by DPS, however the data submitted by TPD was left out. Colonel Frank Milstead apologized to Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor for the omission.

2014 CRIME IN ARIZONA REPORT			Violent Crimes per 100,000 population
Agency	Total Violent Crime	Murder	Rape	Robbery	Aggravated Assault	Human Trafficking
Phoenix PD	605.20	7.89	69.59	204.20	323.53
Tucson PD	662.16	6.73	76.71	189.96	388.57	0.19
Mesa PD	484.01	2.96	57.40	106.82	315.46	1.37
Chandler PD	197.78	0.42	25.41	47.01	124.51	0.42
Glendale PD	375.79	7.50	46.31	138.94	182.60	0.44
Scottsdale PD	167.90	0.92	39.56	37.26	88.78	1.38
Gilbert PD	86.83		9.59	15.35	61.88
Tempe PD	495.92	3.09	63.69	119.34	307.94	1.86
Peoria PD	158.37	1.30	23.37	38.94	94.77
Surprise PD	116.58	3.40	7.66	26.38	79.14
Yuma PD	489.99	3.22	34.38	54.80	397.58
Avondale PD	299.06	2.62	34.10	89.19	173.14
Flagstaff PD	417.49	4.55	45.54	69.83	297.56
Goodyear PD	170.05	3.06	30.64	27.58	108.77
Lake Havasu City	167.53	1.90	26.65	9.52	129.46
Buckeye PD	57.00	1.97	7.86	13.76	33.41
Casa Grande PD	494.12	2.06	43.24	109.12	339.71
Sierra Vista PD	175.45	4.56	15.95	43.29	111.65
Maricopa PD	183.98	2.30	2.30	18.40	160.99
Oro Valley PD	36.58		2.44	7.32	26.82

By City/Town Agencies By Population (Each reporting 12 months total numbers)

CITY/TOWNAGENCIES	POPULATION	Crime Index Total	Violent Crime Total	Murder	Rape	Robbery	Aggravated Assault	Human Trafficking
Phoenix PD	1,445,632	66,039	8,749	114	1,006	2,952	4,677	—
Tucson PD	520,116	35,187	3,444	35	399	988	2,021	1
Mesa PD	439,041	15,150	2,125	13	252	469	1,385	6
Chandler PD	236,123	6,207	467	1	60	111	294	1
Glendale PD	226,721	12,317	852	17	105	315	414	1
Scottsdale PD	217,385	5,675	365	2	86	81	193	3
Gilbert PD	208,453	3,405	181	—	20	32	129	—
Tempe PD	161,719	8,888	802	5	103	193	498	3
Peoria PD	154,065	3,546	244	2	36	60	146	—
Surprise PD	117,517	2,250	137	4	9	31	93	—
Yuma PD	93,064	3,424	456	3	32	51	370	—
Avondale PD	76,238	3,811	228	2	26	68	132	—
Flagstaff PD	65,870	3,306	275	3	30	46	196	—
Goodyear PD	65,275	1,696	111	2	20	18	71	–
Lake Havasu City	52,527	1,199	88	1	14	5	68	–
Buckeye PD	50,876	1,180	29	1	4	7	17	–
Casa Grande PD	48,571	2,062	240	1	21	53	165	–
Sierra Vista PD	43,888	1,411	77	2	7	19	49	–
Maricopa PD	43,482	738	80	1	1	8	70	–
Oro Valley PD	41,011	666	15	—	1	3	11	–

Can’t find your town on the list? Click here for Crime In Arizona Report 2014

AGENCY	Crime Index Total 2013	CRIME INDEX TOTAL 2014
Phoenix PD	69,828	66,039
Tucson PD	38,105	35,187
Mesa PD	14,847	15,150
Chandler PD	6,552	6,207
Glendale PD	14,591	12,317
Scottsdale PD	6,118	5,675
Gilbert PD	3,422	3,405
Tempe PD	8,756	8,888
Peoria PD	4,091	3,546
Surprise PD	2,275	2,250
Yuma PD	3,962	3,424
Avondale PD	3,618	3,811
Flagstaff PD	3,140	3,306
Goodyear PD	1,841	1,696
Lake Havasu City	1,345	1,199
Buckeye PD	1,385	1,180
Casa Grande PD	2,241	2,062
Sierra Vista PD	N/A	1,411
Maricopa PD	883	738
Oro Valley PD	679	666

By County (Each reporting 12 months total numbers)

INDEX CRIMES	MARICOPA	MOHAVE	NAVAJO	PIMA	PINAL	SANTA CRUZ	YAVAPAI	YUMA
MURDER	182	7	—	51	12	—	2	8
RAPE	1,825	67	12	490	89	1	20	49
Rape	1,716	67	10	458	52	1	17	49
Attempts to Commit	109	—	2	32	37	—	3	—
ROBBERY	4,455	49	6	1,202	101	10	34	67
Firearm	1,680	19	1	474	22	—	8	32
Knife/Cutting Instrument	515	6	—	172	7	2	5	12
Other Dangerous Weapons	338	11	2	171	17	4	4	7
Strong Arm	1,922	13	3	385	55	4	17	16
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT	9,096	282	249	2,884	537	51	347	558
Firearm	2,596	27	11	895	60	7	32	106
Knife/Cutting Instrument	1,903	32	25	486	50	1	45	88
Other Dangerous Weapons	2,259	45	78	825	132	7	131	154
Strong Arm	2,338	178	135	678	295	36	139	210
BURGLARY	26,064	1,670	430	6,497	1,572	218	502	1,466
Forcible Entry	15,086	733	176	4,041	628	37	135	734
Unlawful Entry-No Force	9,345	857	237	2,205	750	171	346	646
Attempted Forcible Entry	1,633	80	17	251	194	10	21	86
LARCENY-THEFT	85,920	4,265	969	35,789	5,504	490	2,807	2,946
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT	11,282	403	75	2,556	568	75	130	356
Autos	7,677	262	48	1,822	49	59	103	315
Trucks and Buses	2,453	42	5	450	27	3	6	20
Other Vehicles	1,152	99	22	284	51	13	21	21
ARSON	718	45	7	216	60	—	23	40
HUMAN TRAFFICKING	14	—	—	1	—	—	—	—
TOTAL 2014	139,556	6,788	2,520	49,686	8,443	845	3,865	5,490
TOTAL 2013	147,385	7,199	2,520	52,717	9,025	766	4,793	6,113

Read the Crime In Arizona Report 2013 here.

5 Comments on "Arizona Crime Data Shows Crime Down, Tucson Maintains “Most Dangerous” Status"

hank | October 5, 2015 at 5:59 am |

BUT,BUT, BUT, they are only coming here to get a better life! Too many illegals equals higher crime rate, yet the cot and the clowncil does not want to do anything about them/it. Yes really re-elect the current clowncil and maintain the status of 5th poorest city and 8th poorest area in USA!
BillyB | October 6, 2015 at 6:47 am |

in my neighborhood it is not the Hispanic doing the crime – its white drug addicts – some black crime – yes there are some Hispanics but from the ‘bike people – street people’ that are doing break in’s – robbing the old – etc. this is a young white drug induced epidemic that I see – look at any of many local area ‘homeless camps’ these are not – illegals ; do the ; are the illegals a criminal problem , no doubt — but look in the camps.. look at the bike riders from those camps – who are they. I know this first hand – our area plagued by break in thefts – many since the new drug treatment center was allowed to move in at 5th and Craycroft
Julie H | October 6, 2015 at 2:40 pm |

Exactly BillyB. But they promised us (the Council) this would not become a problem for our neighborhood. Don’t tell me the Tucson City Council has started lying. I couldn’t bear the thought….
Larry Watkins | March 3, 2017 at 8:46 pm |

You been here 22 years. I guess the great divide is keeping people I know from knowing who you are?
Penny L | March 15, 2017 at 3:39 pm |

Every Democrat run city is a crime infested craphole. Every single one. The left loves dangerous people. It helps them push their freedom destroying and rights violating agendas.