Source

Violent crimes up 8% in Tempe
City's dynamic, gangs are to blame, police say

Sarah Muench
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

The number of violent crimes in Tempe jumped 8 percent in 2005 from the previous year, an increase police attribute to the dynamic of the city, which hosts large events and has a population moving in and out every day, coupled with continuing gang violence.

The 1,060 violent crimes in Tempe included robberies, up 24 percent, and aggravated assault, up 6 percent, according to the FBI's preliminary Uniform Crime Report. Murder decreased by half and rape went down 16 percent.

The per-capita rate works out to 6.7 violent crimes per 1,000 people.

"A lot are crimes of opportunity. And anytime you have a large gathering of people, for example, Arizona Mills mall is one of largest tourist attractions in the state," said Sgt. Dan Masters, a Tempe police spokesman.

Masters said that Arizona State University attracts nearly 50,000 people a day and special events can attract more than 100,000 people.

"It's something garnering our attention," he said. "Now days, unfortunately, serious violent crimes can happen anywhere and anytime."

Masters said Tempe has been increasing the number of detectives investigating robberies, and police continue to battle gang violence.

This year, a "street jump" robbery spree, mainly involving pedestrians, near ASU prompted police to hand out information to area students urging increased awareness when.

Last week, two men were arrested in eight armed robberies at convenience stores along Broadway Road near Interstate 10.

Although violent crimes increased, property crime decreased by 5 percent, according to the FBI statistics.

Theft decreased 7 percent, and vehicle theft decreased 4 percent, but burglary went up 2 percent.

Masters said that educating the public and work by the Police Department's crime-prevention staff have helped residents to prevent property crimes

The FBI's report for last year shows murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults up nationwide by 2.5 percent, while property crimes such as burglary decreased by 1.6 percent.