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Councilman Greg Stanton's
North Central News Column
March 2005
Crime Stats Encouraging in North Central and Citywide
Strong police work, community involvement from you and your neighbors and support from city leaders have combined to push down crime throughout Phoenix, including north central neighborhoods.
As a member of the Phoenix City Council Public Safety Subcommittee, I'm proud of our results.
Here are a few highlights from our latest citywide statistics.
Homicides fell by nearly 16 percent in 2004 compared to 2003. Violent crime overall dropped by nearly 5 percent on a per capita basis. Property crimes like burglary, theft and arson fell by about 6 percent on a per capita basis, with nearly 3,500 fewer reported last year. Even motor vehicle theft, a big local problem, was down.
The latest federal statistics show our city has one of the lowest violent crime rates of all major cities in the country.
Crime is also dropping in north central.
The total number of major violent and property crimes in an area bounded by Northern Avenue, 16th Street, Camelback Road and 15th Avenue fell in 2004 by almost 4 percent compared to 2003.
Violent crimes of aggravated assault, robbery, rape and homicide declined by almost 18 percent, while property crimes like car theft, burglary and arson were down by nearly 3 percent.
These positive developments are making our neighborhoods safer and more secure and the Public Safety Subcommittee will continue to support programs that target criminals and promote crime prevention. An example of a successful effort is community action policing, which teams individual police officers with neighborhood associations and residents.
"Residents are the eyes and ears and 24/7 guardians of their neighborhoods and when they relay information to us, it helps get the positive results that are needed to make their neighborhoods safer," said Officer David Chambers, who works as a community action officer in the north central area of the city. "When you have an active neighborhood group, you really do see results."
That community outreach concept is also part of other important police programs, like the Violence Impact Project (V.I.P.) and efforts targeting repeat offenders.
V.I.P. focuses more police attention and resources on neighborhoods experiencing a lot of violent crimes. The intense scrutiny lets police arrest criminals and that improves neighborhoods. It's working now in parts of the city targeted in our first VIP programs.
The repeat offenders program recognizes that most criminals don't retire after their first crime. Police target those known to do crime over and over again. Like VIP, the aggressive action leads to getting some of the most problematic offenders off the streets. Police tell us that a relatively small number of criminals commit a big percentage of our crimes. Hitting those criminals hard makes a real difference.
Much of north central's success is due to the outstanding work of Squaw Peak Police Precinct Commander David P. Thomas and the men and women assigned to the precinct. We want to thank them for their dedication.
We are making good progress on crime in north central areas and the entire city. But we can do more to continue pursuing measures that target crime. You can help by becoming active in your Block Watch organization or by starting one in your neighborhood.
Together, we can help keep our neighborhoods safe and secure.
For general, non-emergency police information concerning your neighborhood, call the Squaw Peak Precinct at 602-495-5007
Phoenix City Councilman Greg Stanton represents District 6, which includes much of north central Phoenix. If you have any questions about any issues, please feel free to call Councilman Stanton's office at 602-262-7491, e-mail greg.stanton@phoenix.gov or visit
www.phoenix.gov/DISTRICT6.
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