Arizona State University is being paid for two graduate-level analysts who will work and partner with Mesa Police Department’s crime analyst for a year.
The Mesa City Council on Aug. 29 approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Board of Regents for ASU to provide technical assistance and training on crime analysis to the police department at a cost not to exceed $217,228.
“I think this is another good example of why it’s good to have a crime lab and why our police department over-performs because we have invested; and the more partnerships we have the better. So it sounds like a good plan,” Mayor John Giles said at the council’s Aug. 25 work session.
The two analysts will work 32 hours a week and will analyze repeat incidents and patterns that occur in the city, Police Lt. J.R. Gomez said at the work session.
“And then also be able to provide that analytical data summaries to our executive staff so we can better roll out our officers for different enforcement initiatives and things that we have going on with the city in terms of crime,” he said.
“The goal is intervention/education, better problem-solving for our officers and give them directed resources out on the street. Instead of each individual district working on their own independently, we will have an overview of the entire city and identify trends that are not just occurring in one specific district,” Gomez said.
The agreement is for Sept. 1, 2022 to Aug. 30, 2023. The Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety at ASU will develop a crime analysis technical assistance and training program for delivery to officers and staff in the police department, Police Chief Ken Cost and Acting Deputy Director Pat Phelps said in a memo to the council.
“The project is intended to build skills that will enable staff to formulate and address problems,” they said in the memo. “An emphasis will be placed on gaining a deeper understanding of problems, issues and trends to provide leaders with information to respond to crime.”
ASU will also provide a minimum of two crime-analysis training sessions per year for police managers and executives; provide in-house peer-to-peer crime analysis training up to once a month for one hour for current crime analysts; and, following the identification and selection of problems identified by ASU analysts, ASU professors will review crime analysis work products and propose evidence-based responses to each problem, according to the agreement.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here