Homicides in Phoenix declined in 2023, with law enforcement crediting the success of their new policy to target repeat and violent offenders.
Phoenix saw 198 criminal homicides in 2023, and police received reports of 54,472 violent and property crimes in total. The number of homicides marked an 11 percent decrease from 2022, when the city reported 223 homicides.
A Phoenix Police Department spokesman, Sgt. Mayra Reeson, told ABC 15 that police in 2023 actively sought “the most violent offenders – people that were outstanding for probation violations, parole violators, repeat offenders.”
Reeson told the outlet, “We sent a message: We’re serious about reducing crime here in Phoenix and we’re going after the most violent.”
While the homicide rate fell last year in Phoenix, there were still substantially more homicides than in previous years, and the city has yet to see a return to the level of crime seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total number of crimes reported decreased by about 6,000 from 2022 to 2023, but authorities saw an increase in property related crimes and sexual offenses.
In 2019, the city saw just 139 homicides, and in 2018, the number was just 137. As the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the nation, followed by social unrest following the death of George Floyd in police custody, the number of recorded homicides in Phoenix rose to 200.
The Phoenix homicide rate remained nearly constant in 2021, with the city reporting a total of 198 over the course of the year.
Crime trends in the city remained constant throughout the year, as in August it was reported that Phoenix was seeing less overall crime despite car thefts, rapes and officer involved shootings all rising.
Meanwhile, public safety in Arizona remains tumultuous due to the continuing homeless crisis, which recently prompted Phoenix to spend $1 million in emergency funding.
The greater Phoenix area recently received $46.5 million in federal funds to address the homeless crisis, even as the state’s overall funding for the homeless reportedly nears $1 billion annually.
Despite its distance from the southern border, Phoenix also struggles with the effects of illegal immigration.
The leader of a human smuggling organization based in Phoenix was recently convicted after prosecutors proved to a jury that the city was used as a temporary holding area for illegal immigrants until the smugglers received final payment.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
