Glendale police refute dangerous suburb ranking
Apr 17, 2014, 1:34 PM | Updated: 1:34 pm
PHOENIX — Glendale Police are refuting a claim by a real estate site that ranked it among the most dangerous suburbs in America.
They say Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics show that crime is down in the city.
“Our data for calendar year 2013 showed significant decreases in both property and violent crimes in Glendale,” said Glendale Police Sgt. Jay O’Neil. “In violent crimes, we showed an overall 19 percent decline in the data that the FBI collects, with dramatic decreases shown in robbery, which was down 19 percent, and aggravated assault, which was down 20 percent.”
O’Neill said there were also fewer property crimes.
“We showed a 9 percent decline in property crimes,” he said. “There were larger decreases shown in burglary, which is down 14 percent, and our auto theft rate is down 15 percent.”
He credited the decreases on police strategies and better community involvement.
Tempe was also ranked as a dangerous suburb. City officials placed the blame on the massive influx of both workers and students the city sees on a daily basis.