UPDATE ON CRIME IN ARIZONA - A REPORT FROM THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS CENTER, JULY 1978

• NCJ Number: 48817
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-MU-AX-0017
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Arizona State Justice Planning Agency
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS SECOND IN A SERIES OF ANNUAL REPORTS SUMMARIZES DATA ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN THE STATE, FOR USE BY ARIZONA CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLANNERS AND ADMINISTRATORS, AS WELL AS INTERESTED CITIZENS.

Abstract

UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS PART ONE INDEX CRIMES ARE CONSIDERED. IT IS INDICATED THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS A DIFFICULT TASK BECAUSE OF ARIZONA'S EXTREME VARIATIONS IN CLIMATE AND TERRAIN; OVERLAPPING LEGAL JURISDICTIONS; A YOUNG, GROWING, MOBILE POPULATION; SPARSELY INHABITED AREAS; AND AN INTERNATIONAL BORDER. STATEWIDE DATA ON CRIME RATES AND ARRESTS COVERING THE PERIOD 1972-1977 ARE COMPILED FROM THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS, STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONALS, OTHER REPORTED DATA, NEWSPAPERS, AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROFILES. THE UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS ARE DESCRIBED, WITH ATTENTION TO LIMITATIONS SUCH AS NONREPORTING OF CRIMES AND THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE CRIMES COMMITTED ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN CRIME STATISTICS, THOUGH RESERVATION RESIDENTS ARE COUNTED AMONG THE STATE'S POPULATION. ARIZONA HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST CRIME RATES IN THE UNITED STATES, WITH A 29 PERCENT TOTAL INCREASE SINCE 1972, DESPITE A DECREASE IN 1976 AND 1977. THE GREATEST RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME, EXCEPT FOR RAPE AND ROBBERY, OCCURS IN SMALLER MUNICIPALITIES AND RURAL AREAS. RAPE IS MOST PREVALENT IN THE CITY OF PHOENIX AND IN URBAN AREAS OF GILA AND PINAL COUNTIES. ROBBERY IS ALSO CONCENTRATED IN THE LARGEST CITIES. PROPERTY CRIMES APPARENTLY ARE RELATED TO THE GROWTH OF THE RESIDENT HEROIN-ADDICT POPULATION, WITH URBAN MARICOPA AND PIMA COUNTIES SHOWING THE GREATEST INCIDENCE. PROPERTY CRIMES ALSO INCREASE IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE DURING THE WINTER TOURIST SEASON, AND IN SUMMER IN NORTHERN ARIZONA. ARREST DATA FOR ARIZONA'S NATIVE AMERICANS ALSO IS INCLUDED. THE STATE IS REPUTEDLY THE MAJOR CORRIDOR FOR NARCOTICS SMUGGLING FROM MEXICO, WITH OPIATE DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION RISING FASTER THAN THE POPULATION. ARREST RATES BY DRUG TYPE AND RATES OF ADMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR DRUG OFFENSES ARE PROVIDED. DEFINITIONS OF THE SEVEN INDEX CRIMES ARE APPENDED. GRAPHS AND TABULAR DATA ILLUSTRATE THE REPORT. (JCP)