The FBI released its annual Uniform Crime Report this week.
Upon reviewing it, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery confirmed overall crimes dropped 1.4 percent, down for the sixth year in a row.
Breaking out the numbers, property crimes fell 2.9 percent including all categories, except auto theft, which went up slightly.
Violent crimes jumped 7.9 percent, climbing for the third year in a row statewide. Those crimes, from least to most common, include: murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults.
To reduce assaults, Montgomery said prosecutors in communities across the state are looking at success stories where crime has dropped.
For instance, the 19th Avenue and Camelback community has experienced a 15 percent drop in crime this year after adopting a neighborhood-police partnership.
