The latest Phoenix Police Department (PPD) data indicates that violent crime has increased while property crimes have decreased from last year.
There was an average increase of over 2 percent for violent crimes, and 3 percent decrease for property crimes. Below are the overall crimes year to date, comparing last January to July to this January to July.
According to separate PPD data, there’s also been a decrease in bias crimes from last year. Last January through August, there were 116 crimes motivated by bias. This year, there have only been 13 in total from January through March.
The drop in bias-motivated crimes has been consistent since 2020, when there was a peak of 204 bias-motivated crimes that year. The greatest number of bias-motivated crimes occurred in 2017, reaching a total of 230.
The rise in crime accompanies PPD’s staffing shortages. On Wednesday, the Phoenix City Council discussed the PPD’s efforts to increase hiring. PPD affirmed that they continue to experience net losses: more officers retiring or resigning than being hired.
Currently, PPD has about 2,600 sworn field positions, 80 in academy, 1,000 working and patrolling officers, 20 in training, and 80 in transitional duty assignment. Current retirements and resignations this year are just under 200. Last year, there were 275 retirements and resignations.
However, PPD Assistant Chief of Police Bryan Chapman said that PPD expected to see a turnaround in the near future.
“If you look at a year ago in terms of where we are today, we are in a much better position. Next year we’ll be back to some normalized numbers or an even better position than where we are,” Chapman.
Officer shortage last year resulted in PPD not responding to certain 911 calls.
Watch the Phoenix City Council policy meeting on public safety and justice below:
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The mayors of Mesa, Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson signed onto a letter Tuesday asking the Senate leaders to codify gay marriage through the Respect for Marriage Act.
The mayors declared that codifying the act affirmed the rights and freedoms of gay couples.
“America’s cities are the bastions of equality, opportunity, and progress. We cannot risk that couples in LGBTQ or interracial marriages could be denied the right to legal protections that other couples take for granted,” read the letter.
U.S. Conference of Mayors LGBTQ Alliance Chair @MayorToddGloria and a bipartisan group of 160+ mayors from across the country sent a letter to Senate leaders this morning urging the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act before the October recess: https://t.co/9sHAHhQxHDpic.twitter.com/BgjTXpWt1s
If passed, the Respect for Marriage Act would prohibit states from denying the validity of gay marriages. It would also empower the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act against those who would deny the validity of gay marriages.
The act cites the 2013 and 2015 Supreme Court decisions, United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges, to support its case for modifying the traditional definition of marriage.
The act also issues an explicit protection for interracial marriages.
The House passed the act in July, 267 to 157. All of Arizona’s Republican representatives voted against the act, while all the Democrats voted for it.
In all, 47 Republican representatives helped pass the act. The Senate needs the support of at least 10 Republicans to pass it on their end.
A coalition of Senate Republicans are working to add an amendment protecting religious liberties.
NEW: The audio Ron Johnson DOESN'T want you to hear!
Newly-obtained audio features Ron Johnson admitting he claimed to support the marriage equality bill to get people "off his back," but says he actually opposes it.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, hasn’t stated whether he supports the act. During a press conference on Tuesday, McConnell wouldn’t speculate on Senate Republicans’ support for the act.
“If the Senate Majority Leader decides to bring [the act] up, we’ll see where the votes are,” said McConnell.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to decline to take a position on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify federal recognition of states’ same-sex and interracial marriages. pic.twitter.com/VwxK1f61Uj
Also on Tuesday, a coalition of over 2,000 church and ministry leaders issued a letter asking the Senate to reject the act.
TODAY: ADF sends letter to U.S. senators on behalf of over 2,000 church and ministry leaders asking them to firmly oppose the misnamed "Respect for Marriage Act."https://t.co/5viDY7qLSw
The Phoenix City Council gave $5 million of the city’s COVID-19 recovery funds to the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) Foundation.
The millions will be distributed to around 400 students with financial need through a newly-launched tuition assistance program, the Phoenix Promise Program. However, the program won’t end once the $5 million of American Rescue Plan Action (ARPA) funding is spent. The city stated last month that they would partner with the MCCD Foundation, along with other, unnamed education institutions, the business community, nonprofits, local governments, and philanthropic organizations to perpetuate the program.
One of the nonprofits that assisted the city of Phoenix and MCCCD in developing the Phoenix Promise Program was Aliento, an illegal immigrant activist organization. The Arizona House awarded a proclamation to the organization for its service to “mixed-document” backgrounds in June.
Phoenix Promise Program will benefit historically marginalized students, low-income, BIPOC, single parents, and returning students who are residents of Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/G9NoFfVaXQ
The city first approved this initial $5 million allocation in early June, followed by a contract with MCCD Foundation at the end of August. The first tuition assistance payments will be awarded for the upcoming Spring 2023 semester, and will be awarded each semester through Spring 2025. About $280,000 of the $5 million will go to administrative costs.
🎓NOW: Council unanimously approves a $5M Phoenix Promise Program that my office developed in partnership with @AlientoAZ, @MCCCDF & @PhxDistrict4.
Now, we work to provide 400 students with tuition assistance & wraparound support to any @mcccd. https://t.co/GOX0KUKhj6
— Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari (@District7PHX) August 31, 2022
Each Phoenix Promise Program recipient will receive $965 each semester. In addition to tuition, recipients may use their funds to pay for books, fees, technology, supplies, transportation, food, and childcare.
The program will also provide recipients with an academic advisor; exclusive access to workshops, boot camps, tutoring, counseling, and other support services; and personalized assistance from MCCCD’s career services.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari lamented that illegal immigrant students with deferred deportation — namely Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as DREAMers — don’t qualify for the funding. Ansari disclosed that city and county officials are researching how to secure funding for them.
“Because this is federal funding, we are unable legally to support our DACA students with it but something we’re looking to do very soon, now that we’ve launched the program, is bringing in other partners,” said Ansari.
The application deadline for Phoenix Promise Program’s Spring 2023 awards is October 31.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Phoenix decided Wednesday to spend $10 million every year until they achieve zero traffic-related fatalities — likely ad infinitum. The council passed the Vision Zero Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) by a unanimous vote.
Approval of the RSAP wasn’t anticipated this soon. Mayor Kate Gallego disclosed during the Wednesday meeting that the council expedited the plan in order to qualify for federal funds. Those funds would come from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grants, established under President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) with an application deadline of September 15.
The $10 million comes from several different avenues: $3 million from the general fund, $2 million from Transportation 2050 Fund, and $5 million from the Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund (AHERF). It’s part of a national network of 53 Democratic cities: the Vision Zero Network. Tempe joined as well. The network supports Buttigieg’s SS4A initiative.
The Vision Zero Network is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a left-leaning grantmaking institution whose funding comes from a variety of left-leaning nonprofits such as the Grove Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the NoVo Foundation.
The city council approved the incorporation of the Vision Zero goals in January.
According to the city’s data, less than 200 traffic-related fatalities occur on average in Phoenix every year. The deaths are generally disparate in nature.
In a statement to AZ Free News, Phoenix City Council candidate Sam Stone claimed that Gallego and the council were purposefully worsening the roadways through RSAP in order to increase demand for public transportation. Ridership for buses, light rail, and other forms of public transit have decreased steadily over the years, likely due to sanitation and crime concerns.
“It doesn’t matter what Mayor Gallego and the Council majority call it, this is still Vision Zero — taking away driving lanes, reducing speeds to 25 mph, and loading the city with automated ticket machines,” warned Stone. “It’s the left’s plan to make driving so inconvenient that everyone (except themselves, of course) is forced to ride the bus. And it’s a gridlock-inducing failure everywhere it’s been tried.”
That $10 million expenditure is flexible. The plan is subject to change, or will function as a “living document,” as confirmed during Wednesday’s meeting by Kini Knudson, director of the Streets Transportation Department. Gallego was visibly excited about the plan’s passage, as were the other council members.
“It’ll be an important year for traffic safety in Phoenix,” said Gallego.
11 citizens will assist with the development of the RSAP through a Vision Zero Community Advisory Committee.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
This week, Google made its driverless vehicles available to the East Valley public through its ride-hailing company, Waymo One. The artificial intelligence taxi service is available in Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Tempe.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was one of the driverless car’s first passengers.
In a promotional video, Gallego said she appreciated that the vehicles are electric, and expressed hope that it would make the city more inclusive.
“There are many people in this community who can’t drive or choose not to,” said Gallego.
This isn’t the East Valley’s first experience with these driverless cars. Google has tested them over the past five years in the area.
One of those test runs went viral last year after the car stalled in a Chandler intersection, blocked three lanes of traffic, and attempted to escape company handlers. The car became confused and stopped because it needed to take a right turn and construction closed off the turn lane with cones. At one point, the car began to back up into oncoming traffic.
The passenger noted that he’d been stranded multiple times before in Waymo’s driverless cars.
Downtown Phoenix will also have driverless cars, but only for Waymo employees and “Trusted Testers,” which are select individuals participating in approved test drives. Unlike the East Valley, the downtown driverless cars will have a Waymo “autonomous specialist” in the front seat.
Waymo is also developing driverless freight transportation through its other initiative, Waymo Via.
Google isn’t the only company testing driverless cars and trucks in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has approved multiple driverless trucking test runs for the company TuSimple, which has ties to the Chinese government.
According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), there are about 3.6 million professional truck drivers in the country. Government estimates report about 8 million people involved in the entire trucking industry. Globally, the industry is worth $4 trillion, and truckers make up about 40 percent of operating costs.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
