Violent crime in Arizona rose 13% in 2016, while property crime declined
Sep 26, 2017, 5:04 AM
(Flickr photo)
(Flickr photo)
PHOENIX — The violent crime rate in Arizona rose 13 percent in 2016, making it the highest violent crime rate the city has seen in nearly a decade, according to the latest Unified Crime Report data from the FBI.
While the violent crime rate in the state has increased for another year, the bureau found that the rate is still 34 percent less than the highest violent crime rate in Arizona’s history, which was 715 violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 1993.
More specifically, the rates for murder, rape, robbery and assault have all increased in Arizona over 2015, the FBI found.
The murder rate increased from from 4.5 to 5.5 per 100,000 residents, while the rate of rape increased two percent over 2015, from 45.5 to 47.5 per 100,000. Robbery increased from 93.3 to 101.8 and assault increased from 266.9 to 315.4, marking a new high since 2006.
However, the property crime rate in Arizona has declined since 2016, continuing a six-year long trend of declining. In 2016, the property crime rate was 2,978 property crimes per 100,000 residents, the lowest rate since 1961, which had 2,969 crimes per 100,000 residents.
The increase of violent crimes in Arizona, coupled with the decrease in property crimes, has “basically reflect[ed] the same overall crime rate as last year,” the bureau found.
According to a statement from Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, the office is working to “better our partnerships with law enforcement and the community” in order to combat any increase in crime rates.
Under the community-based prosecution model, Montgomery said, officials will increase the number of prosecution bureaus “for a more focused partnership between prosecutors, law enforcement, and business and neighborhood leaders.”
“With our increased focus approach, we will be able to identify individuals or unique local circumstances impacting public safety earlier and not have to wait for an annual report that lags almost a year behind what we see on the ground,” the statement read.
The statement said the approach will be completed in the first week of October.
