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The Town of Paradise Valley has recorded 10 or less violent crimes in each of the past three years, records show.
Violent crimes include aggravated assault, robbery, sex offenses, murder and manslaughter.
A public records request through the Paradise Valley Police Department requesting reported violent crimes shows relatively low statistics in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Police Sgt. Michael Horn points out when evaluating the statistics, each case must be evaluated independently.
“Case in point, in 2019 there was a reported sexual offense in which the complainant delayed the reporting by two years,” he said.
The data shows:
Murder and manslaughter: zero in 2017, 2018 and 2019;
Sexual offenses: two in 2017; one in 2018; and five in 2019;
Robbery: two in 2017; one in 2018; and two in 2019;
Aggravated assault: three in 2017; one in 2018; and three in 2019.
Sgt. Horn says the local police department is not seeing any trends in these cases reported from 2017 to 2019.
“Because we have so few cases reported as compared to many other agencies, any increase or decrease in reporting can seem like a ‘spike,’ however, each case must be evaluated independently,” he explained.
The Paradise Valley Police Department has a close working relationship with its community, Sgt. Horn says, which is key to maintaining a low crime rate. He points to regular events, such as the monthly Coffee with a Cop meetings, to develop relationships with residents.
“Coffee with a Cop is where citizens learn various things to include ways to keep themselves and their property protected,” Sgt. Horn said.
“At Coffee with a Cop, citizens also get a chance to speak with officers about specific areas of concern in their neighborhood and they get to know them on a personal level. By doing this, trust is formed and information is shared.”
Secondly, Mr. Horn attributes low crime rate to a department program coined DDACTS --- Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety. DDACTS was implemented in 2017 and is centered around the Lincoln Drive and Tatum Boulevard area.
The program attempts to identify areas of higher volumes of crime and traffic accidents overlap, and adds high-visibility enforcement efforts to those locations.
Sgt. Horn also points out the local police department offers free home security reviews to residents, which enhances the security of their home. Through the reviews, residents are advised on ways to keep their home safe using technology and through environmental design.
“In 2017 we had seven violent crimes, in 2018 we had three and in 2019 we had 10,” Sgt. Horn says. “Crime can fluctuate some from year to year and we are grateful to work in a community where in 2019 PV was ranked among the safest in the state.”
Melissa Rosequist Managing Editor | East Valley @mrosequist_
I first started my journalism portfolio at the age of 15 while in high school before going on to study at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Being in the journalism field is the only professional avenue I was ever interested in, and have worked hard covering topics from school boards to hard news while working for the Independent, where I have been awarded for my reporting.
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