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 |