Arizona has the highest overall crime rate in the nation, according to a report issued by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission.
The state ranks highest in property-crime rates and motor vehicle theft. It has the fifth-highest murder rate, fourth-highest burglary rate and second-highest larceny rate. Larceny is the act of committing a theft.
The report identifies Arizona's explosive population growth as a prime cause for its crime rate, citing a 41.8 percent increase in population compared to a national average of 12.8 percent.
It does not specifically identify any other causes, according to ACJC spokesperson Mary Marshall, due to different regional causes and a refusal to speculate.
"The causes for crime rates going up in, say Pima County, may not be the same causes or correlations in Coconino County," Marshall said. "It doesn't draw a conclusion. It puts out raw data and looks at it from a bird's-eye view.
"All we have is raw data. If someone steals your car stereo, we don't know if someone stole it to sell it for methamphetamines or because they just liked your stereo."
Arizona has seen its crime rate drop, but Marshall points out that the drop does not keep pace relative to the country as a whole.
"It's important to note that crime rates are going down across the country," Marshall said. "It's been about a 25 percent drop in crime rates nationally, but Arizona has only had a drop of about 17.3 percent."
While most crimes in Arizona saw a decline in frequency, murder and rape rates both had a double-digit percentage increase. The murder rate rose by 11.3 percent and the rate of forcible rapes rose 12.9 percent.
The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission is a group of state-required researchers who monitor crime rates and compile the data for lawmakers. Its findings are based on data provided by the National Crime Victimization Survey and the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.
Reach the reporter at jason.ludwig@asu.edu.
