Speak Up: Readers discuss Arizona crime rate decline

Arizona has become a safer state during the past decade, with both violent and property crime steadily declining.

According to recent statewide data from usafacts.org, Arizona records about 422 violent crimes and 1,792 property crimes per 100,000 residents.

That statewide improvement, however, doesn’t tell the whole story. Crime rates vary significantly depending on where you live, with Arizona’s largest cities facing different public safety challenges than many of the state’s suburbs.

Here are some comments from area readers:

Arizona crime rates continue steady decline

“Sealed border, reduced drug flow into our country = crime drop.” — Steve C.

“The first sentence is ‘Arizona has become a safer state during the past decade,’ which means it was declining while the border was ‘open’ too. Soooo I guess closed border doesn’t matter.” — James J.

“I have a hard time believing they are declining.” — Lorna B.

“Only because it’s too hot to go out and commit crimes.” — Bob P.

“Despite these measurable reductions, public perception often does not match the data. Many Americans continue to believe that crime is rising, a divide frequently attributed to intense media focus on violent events.” — Sean H.

“I’m surprised. It seems like I read about murders and missing children every day.” — Pat G.

“Statistics like this need to be taken lightly. They're based on reported crimes. This means crimes not reported are not counted, and some crimes reported may not turn out to be crimes at all. But these are the best numbers we have to go on, I guess..” — Lawrence W.

“Has been a downward trend for years. Also, let's look at the big money crime.” — MJ N.