SOURCE: CITY OF PHOENIX

The Phoenix Police Department continuously focuses on preventing and solving crime, supporting victims, and addressing quality of life issues that affect our community.

Six months into 2023, the police department is pleased to say that overall violent crime is down 2%, and overall property crime is down 19% compared to the first six months of 2022.

“I think we’ve got a good momentum going but there’s a lot more to do. This is work that continues every day and we are not going to let up,” said Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan.

Below is a breakdown of Uniform Crimes Reporting (UCR) numbers for 2023 and a comparison to the previous year. UCR numbers are regularly updated on the police department’s webpage for Crime Statistics.

VIOLENT CRIMES

Overall violent crime is down 2% in Phoenix. Violent crimes include homicide, robbery, aggravated assault and rape.

Homicides and robberies have both seen more than a 10% decrease so far this year. ​

Homicides are down more than 13%. There was a total of 98 homicides in the first six months of 2023, compared to 113 in the same time period of 2022. In 82% of the 2023 cases a firearm was involved.

The clearance rate through the first six months of 2023 is 96.6%. This clearance rate includes clearances of homicides from prior years that were not recorded previously; this is in adherence to UCR reporting criteria.

If you exclude the previous years’ clearances, that puts this year’s clearance rate at 81.6%.

Robberies are down 12%, aggravated assaults have remained about the same as the year before, and rapes are up 10%. There were 51 more rapes reported in the first six months of this year than in the same time period in 2022.

The percentage of people victimized by unknown suspects has remained the same. In more than 66% of the reported rapes, the suspect was known to the victim.

With this increase in rape cases, comes an increase in sexual assault evidence collection kits needing analysis. Phoenix police is working with outside contracted vendors to assist with analyzing these kits.

PROPERTY CRIMES

Overall property crime is down 19% in Phoenix. Property crimes reported in UCR include burglary, theft, arson and motor vehicle theft. All areas except motor vehicle theft have seen a decrease in the first six months of 2023.

Looking at the first six months of 2022 and 2023, burglaries are down 10%, theft is down 25.7% and arson is down 30.8%.

Motor vehicle theft has gone up 4% in the first six months of 2023. ​

Two types of vehicles, Kia and Hyundai, have seen a drastic increase in theft in 2023, while all other vehicle makes have seen a decrease. This increase is, in part, is believed to be associated with a social media trend involving the theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Had the number of Kia and Hyundai thefts remained the same as 2022, overall auto thefts would have decreased by 24%. There is also the possibility that those looking to steal automobiles chose Kia and Hyundai makes over other vehicles, accounting for the decrease in other makes and the significant increase in Kia and Hyundai makes.

OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS

Year-to-date, there have been 21 officer-involved shootings. Eighteen of those happening in the first six months of 2023 as compared to 13, in the first six months of 2022.

Of the 21 shootings this year, 16 of the suspects were armed with a firearm or replica firearm. Twelve of those suspects were prohibited possessors.

“A key component of the Crime Reduction Plan released in June is to focus on those who are illegally carry firearms. It is clear from what we’ve seen so far this year that prohibited possessors pose a danger to our community given the fact that they are not only willing to illegally possess weapons but use them against police officers,” said Interim Chief Sullivan.

Four suspects were armed with a weapon other than a firearm. It was later determined that two suspects died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

Additional data on officer-involved shootings can be found on the Open Data Dashboard.

In June, the updated draft Use of Force Policy was released. Forty-four substantive changes were made to emphasize the concepts of using time, distance and cover, various de-escalation techniques and force application standards. A copy of the updated draft Use of Force policy is available for review now.

Additional draft polices are under review related to Force Response Options, Reporting and Administrative Review and Duty to Intervene.

The finalized Use of Force Policy is expected to go into effect in early 2024.

GUN CRIMES

Non-fatal shootings are down in 2023. In the first six months of this year, we have seen a nearly 15% decrease in the number of shooting victims.

Year-to-date 2,547 guns have been impounded, compared to 2,700 in 2022 from January to the end of June.

In April 2023, Phoenix police launched the Non-Fatal Shooting Investigation Squad as a project within the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit. Their goal is to respond to the scene of non-fatal shootings, whenever a bullet pierces the skin, to assist or assume the investigation. Hear more about this unit on the Phoenix 5-0 Info Podcast. 

TRAINING

The Phoenix Police Department is committed to making sure its officers are equipped with the tools and training to best serve the community.

The types of situations police respond to are constantly changing. Over the last few years there has been a dramatic increase in calls for individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis, contemplating suicide, and people are armed with weapons.

That is why the Department introduced Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) Training beginning in April 2023. This scenario-based de-escalation training focuses on dealing with subjects who are unarmed or armed with something other than a firearm. There is an emphasis on officers use of time, distance and cover as tactics for de-escalation.

Currently, 250 employees have been trained, the first being trained are our Field Training Officers (FTO). All FTOs have been since been trained. It is anticipated that the entire department will have been trained by August 2024.

CRIME REDUCTION PLAN

At the beginning of June, Interim Chief Sullivan announced the department’s Crime Reduction Plan. This plan aims to focus on four priorities to prevent and control crime: the most violent people, the most active areas, prohibited possessors and violent offenders with outstanding arrest warrants.

Commanders of each precinct and bureau have been making progress on specific plans for their respective areas. Operation Summer Shield, a five-day operation that took place in June, is an example of the work being done to target the most violent people with outstanding warrants and prohibited possessors.

The full crime plan is available for the public to read on the department’s website.   ​