Uniform Crime Report Data for 2012

The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data is now available for calendar year 2012. Overall, 219 violent crimes were reported in 2012, increasing 34 offenses over CY2011. 3,480 property offenses were reported, was a decrease of 450 offenses from CY2011. Total Party I crimes dropped from 4,115 offenses in 2011 to 3, 699 offenses in 2012 for a total reduction of 416 offenses (10% reduction in Part I Crimes). Initial comparisons with other valley cities, and communities in the state with populations greater than 100,000, shows that Gilbert has once again recorded the lowest rate of property crimes, violent crimes and overall crimes, as listed below:

CITY	VIOLENT CRIMES PER 1,000	PROPERTY CRIMES PER 1,000	TOTAL CRIMES PER 1,000
Gilbert	1.04	16.35	17.39
Maricopa	1.34	19.34	20.68
Surprise	1.33	20.90	22.24
Chandler *	1.98	21.06	23.04
Scottsdale	1.53	27.48	29.01
Peoria	1.89	29.91	31.80
El Mirage	2.64	29.74	32.38
Mesa	4.05	31.75	35.79
Phoenix**	5.28	34.25	39.53
Tempe	5.41	47.85	53.25
Tucson	7.30	62.46	69.76
Glendale	4.97	64.92	69.88

 

* Chandler data incomplete – through September

** Phoenix data incomplete – through October

This is a significant accomplishment for our police department and our great community, which is something that we can all be very proud of. Maintaining high levels of safety increases quality of life for our citizens and contributes to economic development efforts, which are vital to our future. Our tactics and strategies to detect, deter and prevent crime are working. The police department does not accomplish this on our own. Our partnership with our citizens, business community and other law enforcement agencies is a significant factor in achieving success. We will continue to adjust our tactics and strategies as needed and are always looking at best practices in our profession, and the use of technology, to provide high quality, cost effective services, to our community.

Current Public Safety Issues in Gilbert

I recently had an opportunity to address a group of community business leaders on current public safety issues in Gilbert and how we can work as partners to continue to maintain high levels of safety in our community. I would like to clarify some statements which appeared in a news article following the presentation.

Crime Trends and Concerns

We began 2012 with the lowest overall crime rate in Arizona and one of the lowest in the United States. Our violent crime rate was the lowest in Arizona and property crime rate was the second lowest in Arizona. Preliminary figures show that we continue to reduce property crime, with approximately 466 fewer victims of property crime this year. We have seen slight increases in some areas of violent crime, which follows a national trend. There were approximately 19 additional victims of violent crime this year as compared to 2011. Our homicide rate increased from 2 to 6, which was impacted by one domestic violence related homicide with four victims. All homicide cases have been cleared. The majority of our violent crime cases involve suspects who are known to the victim. Armed robbery is the only exception. Five of our homicides involved firearms; one involved a child death based on negligence.

Perceptions of Safety

I did state that levels of safety in the community should be based on our citizen’s perceptions of safety, rather than just statistics. Our Vision Statement was recently revised to reflect this: Gilbert; A community where people feel safe in their homes, in public places and on our roadways.  Overall, our citizens’ tell us that they do feel safe in our community. The best gauge of this is to drive around and see people in our parks, walking and bike riding in their neighborhoods, shopping in our businesses, and moving to our community. I did state that complacency is our biggest enemy and that the best way to reduce crime is to prevent it. Overall, Gilbert remains a very safe community. Working together, we can keep it that way.

Traffic Safety

Traffic safety remains a significant concern for our department and our residents. We have experienced increases in non-injury, injury and fatal traffic collisions, with an increase of 167 overall collisions. Speed and distracted driving remain leading factors that contribute to collisions. I did jokingly state that police officers are some of the worst drivers on the road when it comes to distracted driving, because we are forced to do things that we tell others not to do (when it comes to paying attention to the road). Our cars are equipped with computers to assist us in a timely response to calls for service, we are answering and listening to the police radio and are constantly looking around us as we are driving, looking for violations and suspicious activity. I also pointed out that our officers recognize this and are trained to adapt to these distractions. As a result, we have a very low collision rate and a very good safety record.  Only one officer involved accident occurred during 696,355 miles of driving in the first 9 months of 2012.  We hold our officers and ourselves accountable for following the same laws that we enforce.  Policies are in place that prohibits the use of cell phones and entering data into the computer, while the vehicle is in motion.

 

School Safety and Gun Violence

I did respond to a question from the audience on school safety and gun violence, stating that I would not get involved in the political discussions on this issue. I did state that there are two common denominators in mass shooting incidents; mental health and the accessibility of firearms by people with mental health issues. My comments about accessibility to firearms were in relation to people with mental health issues and criminals, not the overall accessibility to firearms. I did state that we need to set politics and emotion tied to this issue aside, in order to determine what can be done to reduce and prevent these senseless acts of violence. I did not, nor will I, attempt to offer any opinions on how that can be done. As a nation, we need to figure out how to reduce the opportunity for criminals and people who pose a threat to themselves and others from possessing firearms, while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms for self-protection, hunting and recreation. We also need to address the culture in our country that portrays violence and killing as “fun” and entertainment.

On the issue of school safety; I did state that this is an issue that is not restricted to schools. These acts of violence have occurred in schools, colleges, shopping malls, movie theaters, strip malls, government facilities and houses of worship. We need to be cautious about diverting police resources to one particular area, increasing vulnerability in other areas of the community. As a police department, we have an obligation to protect the entire community. We will continue to work with our school officials to evaluate the security needs on their campuses to keep our kids as safe as possible.

Tragic Events

The tragic events which occurred last week in Connecticut remind us that acts of violence can happen anywhere. Mass shooting incidents have occurred within shopping centers, houses of worship, movie theaters, colleges, high schools, and now at an elementary school. Any location, where there are gatherings of people, create an opportunity for such acts to occur. Our own community was victimized by a mass shooting incident this year, as a result of a domestic violence situation, within a home.

The Gilbert Police Department works closely with our school systems, the fire department and EMS to train and prepare for acts of violence or other unusual circumstances, which may occur on our school campuses, with the hope that we will never need to put our plans and training to use. Our public safety personnel and school staffs are well prepared for any such occurrence.

Shortly after being notified of the incident in Connecticut, Gilbert police officers increased their presence around private and public school facilities. We maintained contact with the East Valley Fusion Center in order to maintain situational awareness on any local potential threats. There was no information to indicate that there were any local or regional threats to our school systems or other locations.

The violent crime rate in Gilbert remains very low, and we cannot allow acts of violence to impact our quality of life. At the same time, we cannot afford to be complacent. Always be aware of your surroundings and have a plan to safeguard yourself, your family and your co-workers. Your plan should follow the philosophy of run, hide, fight. Flee the area if it is safe to do so. If you cannot safely flee, conceal yourself and others around you, in a secure location. As a last resort, fight back to protect yourself and others. Once law enforcement arrives, follow the directions of law enforcement officers. Additional information on this topic and a video can be found at http://www.in.gov/iifc/2395.htm

Intelligence-led Policing

The Gilbert Police Department embraces the principles of Intelligence-led Policing and Community policing in our philosophy and daily operations.

Intelligence-led policing is defined as a business model and management philosophy where data analysis and crime intelligence are pivotal to an objective, decision-making framework that facilitates crime and problem reduction, disruption and prevention through both strategic management and effective enforcement strategies that target prolific and serious offenders.

Community policing involves the police working with the community in order to maintain a perception of safety, reduce fear, identify and solve problems and reduce crime. Effective community policing is based on trust and partnership.

Community policing programs and intelligence-led policing programs are not in conflict with each other; they complement each other.

Our leadership team utilizes technology, data analysis, and information sharing with our neighboring law enforcement agencies to identify crime trends, repeat offenders, traffic collision trends and neighborhood concerns. Resources are then deployed to address these concerns. Officers and leadership are provided daily and weekly maps and crime data which identify the type and location of criminal offenses. Intelligence-led policing meetings are conducted monthly, bringing together our leadership, patrol representatives, criminal investigators, crime suppression officers and our crime analysts to develop tactics and strategies to address community concerns and emerging trends, and to assess the effectiveness of on-going crime and collision reduction operations.

The Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) Program analyzes multi-year data to identify a geographic area with a larger than average level of calls for police service, property related offenses and traffic collisions. Patrol officers, our Crime Suppression Team and traffic enforcement officers are deployed into this area and given specific goals to increase the number of citizen contacts in order to detect and deter criminal activity and to reduce traffic collisions. We have developed a Smartphone App, which is now available through ITunes, which provides information on our program, statistical data, and status reports on the effectiveness of the program.

Short term emerging crime trends and collision trends are identified based on a geographical grouping of similar calls for service, or an increased demand of overall calls for service in a geographical area. Resources are allocated to these areas, based on the nature of the problems. Tactics and strategies are developed by our command staff, to address the specific problems. This type of strategy is referred to as “hot spot enforcement”.

The Crime Suppression Team is comprised of eight specially trained patrol officers under the supervision of a sergeant. The team utilizes marked cars, unmarked cars, bicycles and foot patrols to address community concerns and detect and deter criminal activity. Working in partnership with our Special Investigations Team, crime suppression officers are tasked with addressing neighborhood concerns, to include possible drug related activity, based on tips and information received from the public through our on-line tip program. Repeat offenders and career criminals are identified through our Intelligence and Analysis Unit and the East Valley Fusion Center. Crime suppression officers work with probation and parole officers to maintain frequent contact with these offenders in an effort to discourage future criminal activity.

Our department is increasing our presence on social media in order to improve communications with our citizens, which in turn builds trust and confidence between the police and the public. We encourage open communications in order to identify citizen and community concerns and to solicit community assistance in crime prevention and reduction.

Our efforts are paying off. An analysis of Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data, by the Arizona Republic, indicates that Gilbert experienced a 13.2% reduction in violent crime and a 5.5% reduction in property crime from 2010 to 2011. Gilbert ranked 15^th among the 16 valley communities in violent crime (Paradise Valley ranked 16^th) and 16^th in property crimes, based on the number of crimes per 10,000 residents. The analysis shows that Gilbert has had the most significant decreases in overall crime in the last five years. The other piece of good news is that our neighboring cities are also experiencing reductions in overall crime. This demonstrates that our partnership with our neighbors is working. We want to impact crime overall, not just in our own community.

We need your help in order to maintain success. Good news on crime rates can lead to complacency. Continue to report suspicious activity to the police. Get to know, and watch out for your neighbors. Don’t keep valuables in your vehicles. Lock your vehicles and secure your homes and garages.

There are some who believe that lower crime rates should be accompanied with reductions in police staffing and resources. The best way to reduce crime is to prevent crime. The majority of our activities involve crime prevention and reduction, utilizing intelligence-led policing and community policing. Many of our service demands do not involve a reported crime. Emergency medical responses, neighborhood issues, traffic collisions and enforcement, public order offenses and protecting life and property often times does not involve a crime, but a police response may prevent a crime or reduce the likelihood of injury or death to a citizen. The Gilbert Police Department takes great pride in the level of service that we provide our citizens and are committed to service. Gilbert already has the lowest cost per citizen for police protection and the lowest staffing levels of any police department, serving a community of our size in Arizona. We are also well below the national average. Working together, we can continue to maintain low crime rates and a safe community.

Tactics, Training, People and Partnerships

I am often asked how we are able to maintain such low crime rates in Gilbert with the very low staffing levels in the police department, as compared to other communities. My answer is “Good Tactics, Good Training, Good People and Good Partnerships.”

Our police department is constantly updating and revising our tactics and procedures based on best practices in policing. We combine the principles of community policing and intelligence-led policing in order to deploy our personnel in an effective and efficient manner, to identify and solve community problems and concerns, and to detect and deter criminal activity. Our tactics focus on crime prevention through community education and proactive patrol, while minimizing use of force. Our goal is to take care of the good people in our community while sending a clear message to those who victimize our citizens that we will actively work to locate, arrest and prosecute them. We have developed a reputation for being fair, but firm, in the enforcement of the law.

Our officers and employees receive on-going training to maintain high levels of proficiency. Criminal investigators receive extensive training in the investigation of complex crimes, utilizing funds seized from drug traffickers to minimize the cost to our citizens. Tactical officers maintain high levels of proficiency in order to bring high risk operations to a successful conclusion, while minimizing the risk to the public, officers and suspects. Officers are prepared to use the force which is necessary to protect the public and themselves while utilizing the minimum force necessary to control situations and to de-escalate hostile situations, when possible.

The majority of our community is comprised of good people who care about their families, neighborhoods and community. There is a strong sense of pride in our Town. We work very hard to hire the right people to serve this great community. As stated in our mission statement, we strive to “serve as law enforcement leaders in protecting and assisting all people in our community through effective problem solving, professional service and the relentless pursuit of those who victimize our citizens and compromise public safety.” Our selection process for police officers and civilian support staff focuses on identifying individuals who believe in our mission statement and are committed to serving others. Community policing principals focus on the relationship between the police and the community. The police must maintain the trust of the community through transparency, effective communication, honesty and integrity. We strongly encourage people to report suspicious activity and to look out for their neighbors. We must respond to calls for service in a timely and professional manner, in order to maintain the confidence of our citizens. We stress the importance of treating people with dignity and respect, even during difficult situations, and to demonstrate compassion, when possible. Our police department has developed outstanding partnerships with neighboring police departments and our state and federal partners. East valley police chiefs have a strong belief that it does not matter who catches the criminal, as long as the criminal gets caught. We openly share resources and information in order to increase levels of safety in all of our communities.

The vision statement of the Gilbert Police Department reads: “Gilbert- A community where people feel safe in their homes, in public places and on our roadways.” Working together, we can fulfill this vision.