12 Aug What are the Most Common Crimes in Arizona?
Many people get uneasy when thinking about visiting large cities they might not be familiar with. It’s a normal response when you consider how dangerous many of the country’s large cities are. A Pew Research article was published in late 2019 and pointed out that crime has been on the decline for the last 25 years. This is a national statistic, however, and may not be indicative of what’s happening in Arizona. So how do Arizona’s crime rates compare to other states? And what are the most common crimes in Arizona?
#3 – Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault is considered a violent crime, but it’s so prevalent that it gets its own category. A person may be charged with aggravated assault if they, “knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally provoke, injure, insult, cause physical injury or harm to another person.” What makes aggravated assault so deadly is that the assailant commits the assault with little or no regard for the life or well-being of their victim.
Aggravated assault is different from assault or “simple assault” in that a person can be charged with assault if they attempt to inflict harm on another person. So the assault charge can be brought against a person who didn’t actually touch or inflict harm to another person. Simple assault can be elevated to aggravated assault if a deadly weapon, such as a firearm, is used.
Aggravated assault is serious. It’s a felony in Arizona, as it is everywhere else in the US. It accounted for 64% of all violent crime in Arizona in 2018. It’s considered one of the most common violent crimes committed in the US, so it’s no surprise that it’s the third most common crime in Arizona in 2018.
#2 – Other Violent Crimes
Violent crimes are defined as crimes where a victim is harmed by or threatened with violence. This includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, and murder. The second most common type of crime in Arizona is violent crime. While the largest total number of violent crimes were reported inside metropolitan areas, the highest rate of violent crime was found in cities outside metropolitan areas. In fact, violent crime occurred at almost 10 times the rate per 100,000 residents in cities outside metropolitan areas.
The most visible of the violent crimes is murder. In Arizona the murder rate was down in 2018, just as it was across the rest of the country. Compared to other states, Arizona’s homicide rate is 5.9 per every 100,000 people. This makes them number 18 on the list of most dangerous states. Not all cities in Arizona are dangerous though. Some have lower crime rates than others. Florence, San Luis, and Oro Valley are considered the three safest cities in the state.
#1 – Burglary
According to a 2018 report there was one burglary every 17 minutes and 32 seconds. That’s over 80 burglaries in Arizona per day. This doesn’t mean something is stolen that frequently, though. Burglary differs from robbery in the sense that property doesn’t have to be taken. If a person breaks into a home, for example, with the intent of stealing or harming someone, this is considered burglary—even if nothing was removed. Robbery occurs when property is removed from a person.
There were nearly 30,000 counts of burglary in Arizona in 2018. Most of these break-ins happen when homeowners are away. Arizona has typically been a state where property crime is higher than the national average.
Arizona had the 16th highest crime rate in the country during 2016. This fell in recent years. There was a 4.5% reduction in violent crimes from 2017-2018. A 2020 report from USA Today has the crime rate at 474.9 per 100,000 people. Compared to other states, Arizona is the 10th most violent in the country.
Criminal Defense Attorney in Arizona
Todd Coolidge has been in private practice since 1998. While in private practice he has conducted hundreds of jury trials in many courts throughout Arizona. Throughout his career he has represented clients charged with various crimes, including capital murder, first degree murder, aggravated assault, sexual conduct with a minor, and DUIs. If you’ve been charged with a crime and are in need of legal representation, contact the Law Offices of Todd Coolidge today.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (8/12/20). Image by Kira Hoffmann from Pixabay