Police report: homicides and vehicle thefts rose as department outlines enforcement and prevention plans
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Summary
The Surprise Police Department reported an increase in several crime categories, notably homicides and vehicle thefts, described investigative changes and said leaders will propose traffic‑safety enforcement and public messaging measures.
The Surprise Police Department told the City Council on March 4 that citywide crimes showed mixed trends in 2024, with a notable rise in homicides and vehicle thefts and increases in several proactive-investigation categories.
Police leadership said the department moved from older reporting methods to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which records every offense within an incident. The chief said that change sometimes increases reported counts because a single incident can generate multiple distinct crime reports.
“One number that’s going to jump out is … we went from 2 in ’23 to 12,” the police chief said when summarizing homicides. The chief said investigators have cleared several of the recent violent cases and that the department’s clearance rate on violent crimes is about 50 percent; he said homicide clearance rates in the 70s would be considered very good.
The department said some increases reflect proactive work. The chief described expanded online‑investigations capability and membership in a regional child-abduction reduction team (Arizona CART), which has led to more proactive investigations of online predators and trafficking-related offenses. He said the department will bring a separate proposal if council wants to change city code related to commercial‑sex trafficking investigations.
Vehicle thefts totaled 64 last year, the chief said, and the department attributed some of the thefts to a local “chop shop” that investigators dismantled. He said detectives now participate in a state auto-theft task force.
Traffic collisions rose slightly, the chief reported, with many collisions connected to speeding and impairment. He identified several corridors with concentrations of collisions — including Bell Road at Litchfield and Bell at Reams — and said staff will share additional analysis and traffic-safety recommendations. Council members asked for breakdowns of causes (speeding versus impairment) and requested more granular data for particular intersections.
Other items highlighted included an increase in arson cases the chief described as a mix of suspicious fires, possible insurance-fraud investigations and a few revenge-style incidents; increased fraud and online-scamming reports; and an uptick in proactive drug investigations via county task forces. The chief said dispatch and response metrics remain within reasonable ranges: average 911-answer times near industry standards and average officer response times around four to five minutes for priority calls, though he cautioned that higher-priority calls receive immediate attention.
Council members asked how they could support police efforts; the chief requested public messaging on safe driving, continued partnerships with community service providers for domestic‑violence prevention and proposed budgeted resources for added traffic enforcement. The council did not vote on policy during the presentation, but members directed staff to return with more data and a plan for traffic enforcement funding as part of the upcoming budget process.