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Pinal County attorney tells Florence council assaults and property crimes rose though Florence recorded zero homicides in three years
Summary
Pinal County Attorney Bridal Miller presented prosecution-focused crime data showing overall increases in incidents from 171 (2023) to 282 (2025); he emphasized a prosecutorial shift toward more aggressive charging for violent offenses and said roughly 40% of Florence's charges are correctional-facility related.
Pinal County Attorney Bridal Miller told the Florence Town Council on May 19 that his office's prosecution strategy has changed in recent years and that Florence recorded no homicide prosecutions in the last three years.
Miller summarized multi-year figures: 171 incidents in 2023, 208 in 2024 and 282 in 2025 (presentation focused on prosecutions handled by his office rather than all police calls). He said prison-related incidents accounted for about 117 of last year's incidents while community-based incidents numbered about 165. Miller said aggravated-assault prosecutions have increased because his office has pursued more aggressive charging to ensure felony-level accountability.
He also described evolving drug-enforcement priorities: 11 drug-related charges in 2023, 32 in 2024 and 18 in 2025, with recent emphasis on methamphetamine and high-impact cases rather than volume. Miller flagged an increase in property crimes, including burglary and trespass, and described recent prosecutions involving assaults on corrections employees.
Council members thanked Miller and discussed whether improved police staffing and reporting could explain some of the increases. Miller said some trends reflect stepped-up enforcement and changes in charging categories; he provided to staff a presentation packet that would be released to the public.
What's next: Miller said his office will release the presentation materials and continue coordinating with town law enforcement and council staff on prosecution and enforcement priorities.
