Grand Canyon Times

At its current pace, the City of Phoenix will see an estimated 226 murders this year, 65 percent more than it had in 2018.

That’s according to an analysis of Phoenix Police Department records by the Grand Canyon Times.

The records show the city– and state of Arizona, more broadly– saw sharp spikes in violent crime in 2020, which have become the new normal.

Phoenix had 137 murders and 7,790 aggravated assaults in 2018, according to the police.

In 2020, it had 200 murders and 9,113 aggravated assaults.

In 2022, the city is on pace to have a record number of murders and aggravated assaults (9,192), which have seen an 18 percent increase since 2018 and a 122 percent increase since 2010.

The rest of Arizona has also seen a sharp increase in violent crime, albeit not as large as in Phoenix, which is primarily driving the state’s rate increase.

In 2010, Arizona had 354 murders, versus 423 in 2020.

Approximately one-third of the state’s murders were in Phoenix in 2010; in 2020, it was about half of them. 

The same goes for aggravated assaults, which have risen by 31 percent statewide to 19,751 from 15,074.

These crime increases come amidst calls by Democrat politicians to shift police funding away to “counseling” programs that seek to convince criminals to stop.

Last month, the Arizona police association called upon Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs to condemn groups supporting her campaign that back the so-called “defund the police” movement.

NARAL, a pro-abortion group, has endorsed Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

It has called for "defunding the police and investing in Black communities," which it says go hand-in-hand.

Violent Crime up 12 percent in Phoenix since 2018
Murder, Aggravated Assault on the rise in Arizona's largest city
	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2018-2022
					Projected
Violent Crimes	12,115	11,811	13,659	13,125	13,556	12%
Murder	137	139	200	198	226	65%
Rape	1,086	1,139	1,068	1,087	1,024	-6%
Robbery	3,112	3,197	3,278	3,183	3,114	0%
Agg. Assault	7,780	7,336	9,113	8,657	9,192	18%
Burglary	10,479	9,471	7,406	6,289	6,284	-40%
Larceny/Theft	39,438	39,427	36,254	36,668	36,656	-7%
Car Theft	7,815	7,076	7,429	7,890	7,858	1%
Arson	238	201	297	248	260	9%
Source: City of Phoenix Police Dept.
Phoenix: Bigger share of state's violent crime
Phoenix saw 1/3 of state's murders in 2010; in 2020 it saw nearly half of them.
	Phoenix		Statewide		Phoenix %
	Murder	Agg. Assault	Murder	Agg. Assault	Murder	Agg. Assault
2010	116	4,113	354	15,074	33%	27%
2011	120	4,090	339	15,272	35%	27%
2012	127	5,263	345	16,579	37%	32%
2013	124	5,506	312	15,981	40%	34%
2014	116	4,677	276	15,009	42%	31%
2015	113	5,059	279	15,364	41%	33%
2016	146	6,263	346	17,431	42%	36%
2017	161	7,919	369	19,483	44%	41%
2018	137	7,780	331	18,452	41%	42%
2019	139	7,336	320	17,433	43%	42%
2020	200	9,113	423	19,751	47%	46%
2010-2020	72%	122%	19%	31%	44%	69%
Source: Arizona Dept. of Public Safety; 2021 and 2022 data not available