I recently applied for a civilian position within the Phoenix Police Department for Crime Scene Investigator I. Because of this, I’ve started paying attention to the headlines. What immediately caught my attention was that a lot of people tend to get killed in Phoenix. At least more than I’m used to. So I went to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website and looked up some data from the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). In 2006 Phoenix had 235 instances of non-negligent manslaughter and murder. Interestingly though, the violent crime rate seems to be similar to Portland. Below are some tables showing murder and violent crime rates (per 100,000 people) in Phoenix, Scottsdale (weathlier suburb), Tempe (suburb) and Portland, Oregon (my hometown).
Murder Rate (Per 100,000)
| Agency |
State |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| |
|
| Phoenix Police Dept |
AZ |
11.5 |
15.3 |
12.6 |
17.2 |
14.1 |
15 |
15.5 |
| Scottsdale Police Dept |
AZ |
3.9 |
4.8 |
0.5 |
3.2 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
| Tempe Police Dept |
AZ |
8.2 |
3 |
5.9 |
4.3 |
4.9 |
2.4 |
3 |
| Portland Police Dept |
OR |
3.6 |
3.9 |
3.7 |
5 |
5.3 |
3.7 |
3.7 |
Violent Crime Rate (Per 100,000)
| Agency |
State |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| |
|
| Phoenix Police Dept |
AZ |
738.4 |
770.7 |
727.6 |
692.8 |
662.4 |
729.1 |
737.8 |
| Scottsdale Police Dept |
AZ |
281.7 |
295.2 |
224 |
223.4 |
208.6 |
202.8 |
215.2 |
| Tempe Police Dept |
AZ |
616.5 |
571 |
735 |
620.9 |
599.3 |
638 |
653.9 |
| Portland Police Dept |
OR |
1076.9 |
848.3 |
828.5 |
813.5 |
741.8 |
713.9 |
714.2 |
