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Scottsdale’s exceptional quality of life is based on a simple foundation: When people work together, great things can be accomplished.
The formula extends to public safety. Crime prevention and enforcement require more than a great police force. It also takes a strong partnership with citizens and a community that cares. As police chief, I’m honored to work with a department of highly trained and dedicated officers and inspired by our supportive, engaged residents. That partnership made Scottsdale a great, safe place to live in 2007.
We continued our commitment to community policing, building partnerships with our homeowner’s associations, Block Watch groups, the Partners for Paiute support group at the Paiute Community Center and through Conexiones, a group dedicated to Hispanic communities in Scottsdale. All of these efforts are aimed at delivering quality, first-line services to the community.
Our crime prevention efforts involved proactive steps to reduce crime. We held 12 Vehicle Identification Number etching events where 373 vehicles were etched to deter auto thieves. We also held six “shred-it” events, where residents took advantage of bulk shredders to destroy discarded papers containing personal information.
Many police construction projects continued in 2007. One we are particularly proud of is the new Police Communications Center. It opened in May and provides Communication staff with an expanded work area, training room and state-of-the-art electronics. The District 3 station and the Hontz Training Facility were both expanded in 2007. The beginning construction stages for the new Police Crime Lab, Property & Evidence facility as well as the new District One building have started and ground has been broken. The expansion/consolidation of the District One Jail is currently in progress, along with the completion of the security station at One Civic Center.
A total of 346,404 calls were dialed into the Communications Center in 2007. 106,164 were 911 Emergency calls for service; 36,244 of those calls resulted in generated departmental reports. 90.17% of the total 911 Emergency calls received were answered in less than 10 seconds and 98.35% were answered in less than 20 seconds.
Our Personnel Unit received about 2,000 applications for sworn and civilian positions with the department. Of those, we hired 113 people and assigned 10 additional volunteers to help protect and serve the residents of Scottsdale. Among the new hires were three new municipal security guard positions to provide a uniformed, armed security presence at Scottsdale’s City Hall.
Scottsdale is a safe community in which to live, work and play. Our violent crime rates have traditionally been low and 2007 was no exception. Burglary, auto theft and arson were all down in 2007. The five homicides in 2007 match the number of homicides in 2006. All five were solved within a week. Thefts showed a minimal increase and our detectives worked hard on tracking leads. As of July 2007, our detectives had recovered almost $9 million in stolen property and automobiles.
Our photo enforcement program continues to help make the streets of Scottsdale safer. Motorists seem to be getting the message to slow down and avoid running red lights. A 2007 study conducted by the Arizona State University found Loop 101 photo enforcement program reduced the number of speeders along Scottsdale’s section of the freeway and reduced the number and severity of collisions. The Loop 101 program, started by Scottsdale in 2006, underwent a transition in 2007. The freeway photo enforcement cameras were taken over by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The program is expected to continue making the freeway in Scottsdale a safer stretch of roadway.
In 2008, we look forward to continuing our goals to prevent crime and disorder, respond promptly to calls for service, enhance traffic safety, develop safer neighborhoods through community partnerships, and maintain the high quality of our police service to the community.
I appreciate this opportunity to personally thank the citizens for helping us make Scottsdale a safe and thriving community.
Sincerely,
