Once again it is time for a yearly review of the crime statistics for the Desert Ridge area. This year the statistics for the off duty patrol area will be a little different. Early in 2016 the DRCA Board decided to expand the program to cover the Aviano neighborhood so the crime stats will now cover the entire residential community of Desert Ridge. This is defined as the residential areas from Pinnacle Peak south to the 101 Freeway, 36th Street to 56th Street and does not include the Desert Ridge Marketplace, High Street, JW Marriott Resort or any of the commercial locations. The statistics for all the years will include the new area so we can get a good comparison. Since we now have a full five years of the off duty program under our belts, I did a calculation of the averages for three different time periods, the entire last nine years, the four years prior to implementation of the off duty patrol program and the five years of the off duty program.
The reports contain Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics as compiled by our Crime Analysis Unit. The Phoenix Police Department reports our official statistics to the Federal government according to the Uniform Reporting Criteria (UCR) which are not equivalent to Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) statistics or another other types. Under the hierarchy rule of UCR, only the most severe offense of an incident is counted, so if there is a Homicide after a Burglary, only the Homicide is counted. There are 4 Part One Violent Crimes that are counted and they are Homicide, Rape, Robbery and Aggravated Assault (counted individually by victim). There are 4 Part One Property Crimes that are counted and they are Stolen Vehicles, Arson, Theft, and Burglary (which includes residential, commercial and burglary from vehicles). It should also be noted that in January of 2014 the FBI changed the UCR Rape category definition which changed a couple years recent statistics.
A review of the 2016 statistics show some trends that you may have heard a few times from me over the years. In 2016 Thefts increased to 125 from 71 in 2015 and a large majority of them were from unsecured vehicles and open garages. These are very preventable crimes of opportunity, so please take a few moments and remove any valuables from your vehicles, roll up the windows, lock the vehicles and keep your garages closed when not in use. By doing these simple things we can reduce thefts and crimes of opportunity, making the area a target hardened neighborhood.
The report showing averages for the various cross section of years confirms what previous years reports have told us, that the off duty patrols have helped drastically reduce property crime in Desert Ridge. Years prior to the patrols had Burglary averages of 95 per year, Theft averages of 138 and Total property crimes of 252. Since the patrols began we have reduced those averages to 44 Burglaries, 78 Thefts and 130 Total Property Crimes per year.
The Phoenix Police Department will continue to partner with the residents of Desert Ridge in order to ensure a high quality of life and provide a safe community for all. If anyone wants to start a Block Watch, would like a free home security inspection, has any questions in regards to these statistics or anything else that is occurring in Desert Ridge, please feel free to call me at 602-495-5238 or email me at tim.mitten@phoenix.gov.
