The number of firearm homicides in the Phoenix area dropped between 2006 and 2007 and 2009 to 2010, according to new numbers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2006 and 2007, there were nearly seven gun-related homicides per 100,000 residents in Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale. That was tied for the 10th highest rate among the 50 biggest cities in the country, with the San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward, Calif. area and higher than the national average.
But between 2009 and 2010, the Phoenix area’s rate dropped from 6.9 to 4 percent. That put the region below the national average and 25th out of the 50 biggest cities.
Overall, in both sets of years studied, the rate of gun-related homicides was higher in those big cities than the country overall. Between 2006 and 2007, the Phoenix area’s rate was higher than that of the average of the 50 biggest cities. Between 2009 and 2010, it was lower than that average.