| Phoenix PD Combat Rising Crime, Homicides Up 44% | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/police/1575 | Police | | 10/19/2020 8:00:00 PM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/1575/Police_Newsroom_Homicide.png | | Phoenix PD Combat Rising Crime, Homicides Up 44% | <div class="ExternalClass8E82D13C0BAF4889A00F2C1DBFB8A0FD"><html>
<p>More than 12 dozen people have lost their lives
in Phoenix this year at the hands of someone else. The rising homicide rate reflects 148 people
whose untimely death has been ruled a homicide.
Hundreds of families and friends are left with an empty seat at the
table that can never be filled.</p><p><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/UCR%20Homicide%202020.png" style="margin:5px;width:535px;height:535px;vertical-align:auto;float:none;" /></p><p>The Phoenix Police Department is responding to this trend of deadly acts of gun violence, gang activity and domestic violence. </p><p>Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) numbers for January through September show a more than 40% increase in homicides compared to the same time last year. The summer months (July-Sept) have been particularly dangerous, with the number of homicides more than doubling from the same three months last year. <br><br><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Cities%20Homicide%202020.png" style="margin:5px;width:535px;height:535px;vertical-align:auto;float:none;" /></p><p>The increase seen in Phoenix mirrors a trend happening in major cities across the United States.<br><br>Chicago has seen the largest increase, up 50% percent this year. But there are double digit increases in nearly all the largest cities in America. </p><p><strong style="font-size:13pt;">VICTIMS</strong><br><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Victims%20Homicide%202020.png" style="margin:5px;width:535px;height:535px;vertical-align:auto;float:none;" /></p><p>Who are these 148 victims? In a city with slightly more women than men,
the victims of homicide are far more likely to be male. Racially, the City of Phoenix has roughly the
same number of white and Hispanics, each making up about 43% of the
population. However, Hispanics make up
nearly half of the victims of homicide, with Blacks next at 26%, a number that
is almost four times greater than the 7% of overall City population. Whites make up 21% of the victims with Native
Americas at 4% and Asians 2%.<br><br><strong style="font-size:13pt;">SUSPECTS</strong><br><br><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Suspects%20Homicide%202020.png" style="margin:5px;width:535px;height:535px;vertical-align:auto;float:none;" /></p><p>In nearly one-third of the homicides in 2020, police
do not know the gender or race of the suspect.
This could be due to limited evidence, lack of witnesses or uncooperative
witnesses. Where the identity of the
suspect is known, it is 6 times more likely to be a man. Hispanics make up 27% of the suspects, with black
suspects at 22% and white at 17%.<br><br><strong style="font-size:13pt;">GANGS & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE</strong><br style="font-size:13pt;">Motivations behind the violence are not always clear, but the numbers show gang-related homicides have more than tripled over last year and domestic violence deaths have jumped from 12 in 2019 to 35 so far this year.<br><span id="ms-rterangepaste-start"></span><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Gang%20DV%20Homicide%202020.png" style="margin:5px;width:535px;height:535px;vertical-align:auto;float:none;" /><br>The Phoenix Police Department is combating the trend, partnering with other law enforcement agencies on initiatives that focus on the most dangerous and violent criminals. The department is also supporting the Domestic Violence Help! and Paint Phoenix Purple campaigns designed to raise awareness of resources available for victims of domestic violence.<br><br><span style="font-size:13pt;"><strong>CRIME INITIATIVES</strong></span><br style="font-size:13pt;"><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Snake%20Eyes%20Gun.png" style="margin:5px;width:238px;vertical-align:auto;float:right;" />The Phoenix Police Department partnered with other
agencies throughout August and September in a joint law enforcement operation focused
on gang members, violent criminals and communities struggling with gun-related
crimes. The initiative lead to 140
arrests with 131 firearms and $145,831 in cash seized. Officers also removed 3,027 counterfeit
Fentanyl pills from the streets.<br><br>A Grand Jury recently indicted more than 30 people as part of an initiative that started after citizen complaints about crime activity in an area around a school and park at 17th Avenue & Pima Street. The indictment includes charges for sale of illegal drugs, money laundering, and assisting a criminal street gang.<br><br>Project Safe Neighborhoods involves the community and police working together to address crime trends. This program is currently operating in the South Mountain Precinct, focused on violence happening in the area of 20th Street & Southern. As of the end of September, the program resulted in more than 100 felony charges with 14 guns seized and 9 stolen vehicles recovered.<br><br>“Investigations like these bring many partners together to address common crime trends in each of our cities," said Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams. “Working with intelligence driven information allows us to specifically target those individuals who are responsible for crime which often result in violence."<br><br><strong style="font-size:13pt;">DOMESTIC VIOLENCE<br></strong>Not only have the number of domestic violence related homicides risen dramatically in 2020, but the number of calls related to domestic violence has also increased.</p><p>That's why the City of Phoenix launched a “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-coronavirus-protests-11596395181"><span style="color:purple;">Domestic Violence Help</span></a><span style="color:purple;">!" </span>campaign in April. <br>Survivors <a target="_blank" href="/newsroom/police/1159"><span style="color:purple;">shared their stories</span></a> of getting help. Media partners across the valley helped spread the message on radio, TV and billboards to let the community know help is available.<br><br><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Paint%20Phoenix%20Purple.png" style="margin:5px;width:282px;height:267px;vertical-align:auto;float:left;" />October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. <a target="_blank" href="https://paintphoenixpurple.org/"><span style="color:purple;">Paint Phoenix Purple</span></a> is a local awareness campaign that brings together more than 50 community, private and public organizations. The groups have partnered to create a <a target="_blank" href="https://paintphoenixpurple.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DV-Roadmap.pdf"><span style="color:purple;">Road Map to Excellence: Making the City of Phoenix a National Leader in Preventing and Ending Domestic Violence.</span></a> The month-long Paint Phoenix Purple campaign also includes virtual classes, a virtual run/walk and a social media campaign to #PaintPHXPurple, designed to reach more people on social media with a message of resources for help.<br><br>Those resources include:</p><ul><li><a target="_blank" href="/humanservices/programs/victims/fac"><span style="color:purple;">The Family Advocacy Center</span></a>: 602-534-2120, 2120 N Central Ave. 2nd Floor, Phoenix</li><li>Find a list of resources at <a target="_blank" href="/police/domesticviolence"><span style="color:purple;">Phoenix.gov/DomesticViolence</span></a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehotline.org/help/"><span style="color:purple;">National Domestic Violence Hotline</span></a><span style="color:purple;">:</span> 800 799-SAFE (7233)</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.acesdv.org/"><span style="color:purple;">Arizona Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence</span></a><span style="color:purple;"> </span></li><li>Remember if you can't speak you can text 911</li></ul><br><span style="font-size:13pt;"><strong>MAPPING CRIME HOTSPOTS<br></strong></span>This map shows the hot spots for homicides in 2020. You can see that while no area is immune, the I-10 & I-17 corridors see a greater impact. The Phoenix Police Department posts a variety of crime statistics including Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), bias crimes and crime hotspot maps. You can also view crime maps and neighborhood crime counts in your neighborhood or place of business through the interactive <a target="_blank" href="/police/resources-information/crime-stats-maps"><span style="color:purple;">LexisNexis Community Crime Map </span></a>hosted on the police department's website.<br><p><span style="line-height:107%;font-family:"calibri",sans-serif;font-size:18pt;"><font color="#000000"><span id="ms-rterangepaste-start"></span><img src="/policesite/MediaAssets/Homicide%20Hotspots.png" style="margin:5px;" /></font></span></p><span id="ms-rterangepaste-end"></span></html></div> | https://phoenix.gov/police | News | | police | Police Homicide | Police | | | | @PhoenixPolice #PaintPHXPurple #DomesticViolence @ACESDV | Homicide, Murder, Domestic Violence, Crime, UCR | Police Main PIO | | | | | phoenixpd.pio@phoenix.gov | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/MediaContact/Attachments/36/Police2.png | | | | | | | | PhoenixPolice | |
