DPS Data Offers Portrait Of Crime In County And State

The Community Data Project was recently created through a grant from the Arizona Governor’s Office for Children, Youth and Families.

Liquor Law Violations

During the years available, both adult and youth arrests for liquor law violations in Navajo County exceeded statewide rates.

In 2006, the county had an arrest rate of 7.71 per 1,000 people for adults, compared to 4.29 statewide. Youth arrests for 2006 were 5.87 per 1,000 in the county, and 3.53 across the state.

For 2007, the gap decreased slightly, with a county rate of 6.3 per 1,000 for adults and 6.75 for youth, compared to statewide totals of 4.68 for adults and 3.74 for youth.

By 2008, the gap between the state and the county had narrowed further, but still left Navajo County ahead of the statewide rates with a rate of 7.15 for adults and 5.42 for youth. Statewide rates for 2008 were 5.1 per 1,000 for adults and 3.46 for youth.

Aggravated Assault

Arrests for aggravated assault in Navajo County were higher than statewide rates for adults, but lower for youth, except in 2008.

In 2006, Navajo County had an adult arrest rate of 2.58 per 1,000, compared to a state rate of 1.19. For youth, the county rate was .66 per 1,000, and the state rate was .77.

Rates in Navajo County dropped slightly in 2007, but so did state rates, with 2.56 arrests per 1,000 adults and .66 per 1,000 youth in Navajo County, and 1.12 per 1,000 adults and .67 per 1,000 youth statewide.

Navajo County shot further above statewide rates for both adults and youth in 2008, with a rate of 3.26 per 1,000 for adults and 1.19 for youth, compared to state rates of 1.17 for adults and .65 for youth.

Burglary

Arrest rates in Navajo County for burglary bounced around over the three-year period, but stayed above the state averages in most cases.

Rates for adults in Navajo County were exceptionally high in 2006, at 1.69 per 1,000, compared to .5 statewide. Youth arrests were below the state rate, at .78 for the county and .88 for the state.

In 2007, burglary arrests dropped for adults and increased for youth in Navajo County, with a rate of .98 for adults and 1.67 per 1,000 for youth. Across the state, the adult rate was once again .5 and the youth rate was .9.

By 2008, adult and youth arrest rates in Navajo County evened out with each other, but both remained above state rates at 1.24 per 1,000 for adults and 1.28 per 1,000 for youth, compared to .6 for adults and .9 for youth statewide.

Violent Crime

While youth arrests for all types of violent crime stayed below state rates most years, adult rates were higher than statewide numbers.

In 2006, the county adult arrest rate was 2.72 and the youth rate .72 per 1,000 for violent crimes. Statewide rates were 1.57 for adults and 1.01 for youth.

During 2007, rates remained fairly steady across the board. County arrest rates were 2.8 per 1,000 for adults and .69 for youth, while state rates were 1.53 for adults and .96 for youth.

Rates jumped in 2008 in Navajo County to 3.61 for adults and 1.37 for youth, while state rates remained fairly steady at 1.6 for adults and .95 for youth per 1,000.

Murder

Navajo County had few arrests for murder, but outranked the statewide arrest rate for adults one time over the three-year period. There were no arrests listed for youth for Navajo County during the time period.

Statewide, the arrest rate for adults was .06 per 1,000 each year for 2006, 2007 and 2008. In Navajo County, the rate in 2006 was .01. That rate jumped in 2007 to .09 and dropped back to equal the state rate of .06 in 2008.

Rape

Arrest rates for rape in Navajo County were lower than those across the state except in 2008. There were no arrests listed for youth for Navajo County during the time period.

In 2006 and 2007, the county arrest rate for adults was .03, while it remained at .04 per 1,000 for the state.

During 2008, however, the county rate jumped to .13, while the state rate dropped to .03.

Larceny

Navajo County arrests for larceny, or theft, stayed below state rates for most of the three-year period included in the community data project.

For adults in Navajo County in 2006, the rate was 4.0, while statewide it was 4.26 per 1,000. Youth arrests in the county were 3.53 per 1,000, compared to 4.19 across the state.

In 2007, the adult county arrest rate was 3.8 and the state rate was 4.87, while the youth county rate was 2.27 and the state rate was 4.8.

Adult arrest rates jumped in Navajo County in 2008, but so did state rates, with the county coming in at 5.38 per 1,000 and the state at 5.29. Youth arrests that year were 3.51 per 1,000 in the county and 5.17 statewide.

DUI

Navajo County remained fairly close to state arrest rates for DUI for both adults and youth.

In 2006, adult arrest rates in the county did exceed the state rate, with the county coming in at 9.12 and the state at 7.77 per 1,000. Youth arrests in the county stayed below the state rate at .23, compared to .37 across the state.

Rates improved in 2007, with county adult arrest rates at 8.26 and state rates at 8.31, while youth rates were at .18 for the county and .36 for the state.

During 2008, arrests increased slightly in the county. The county adult rate was 8.64 per 1,000 and the youth rate was .21. The state rate was 8.23 for adults and .33 for youth.

Other Crimes

Navajo County had a lower arrest rate than the state for both youth and adults for several common crimes, including robbery, motor vehicle thefts, drug sale or manufacturing, and drug possession.

In each of the three years included in the data, the only time Navajo County rates exceeded those of the state was for motor vehicle theft in 2008. That year, the county had .47 arrests per 1,000 people for adults, while the state had .42.

More information on crime rates, as well as data from the 2010 Arizona Youth Survey, are available online at www.bach-harrison.com/arizonadataproject/Indicators.aspx.