The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department released crime statistics for the first six months of 2023, revealing that overall crime is down 2 percent, even as auto thefts, rape, and police shootings rise in the city.
Numbers released by the city show violent crime is down 2 percent in Arizona’s capital, and property crimes are down 19 percent, when the first six months of 2023 are compared with the same period in 2022. Still, the city reported an increase in rapes, increase in auto thefts, and officer-involved shootings.
In violent crimes, homicides were down 13.3 percent, with 98 reported in 2023 compared with 113 during the same period in 2022. Likewise, robbery is down 12.1 percent, from 1,557 in 2022 to 1,368 in 2023. Unfortunately there were 563 incidents of rape reported in 2023, and 512 in 2022, generating a 10 percent increase.
Property crimes were down 19 percent over all, but a surge in car thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles caused the rate of vehicle thefts to increase by 4 percent. Theft was down 25.7 percent, burglary was down 10 percent, and arson decreased by 30.8 percent.
In their press release, the city noted that the increased number of vehicle thefts may have been sparked by a social media trend revealing how to steal the vehicles. “Had the number of Kia and Hyundai thefts remained the same as 2022, overall auto thefts would have decreased by 24 percent,” noted police officials, who also acknowledged that car thieves may have simply “chose Kia and Hyundai makes over other vehicles.”
The social media trend in question seems to stem from social media platform TikTok under the “Kia Boys” hashtag. Videos inform users how to enter and hot wire certain makes and models of 2010-2021 Kia and Hyundai vehicles using a USB cord. A report claimed those behind the crimes “are mainly young teens” who may be inspired by the social media hashtag “Kia Boys” to commit the crime. The “Kia Boys” trend on TikTok had more than 51.5 million views when reviewed by The Arizona Sun Times.
Sergeant Brian Bower, a public information officer with the Phoenix Police Department, attributed the trend in Kia and Hyundai thefts to viral TikTok videos when speaking to The Sun Times via phone. He confirmed that individuals use USB cords or drives to commit the thefts, but added that any tool could be used, and advised Phoenicians to always carry both their physical key and electronic key fob when leaving their car to minimize the risk of theft.
Officials also reported 18 officer-involved shootings in the first six months of 2023, compared with 13 in the same period of 2022. The report noted that of all 21 officer-involved shootings so far in 2023, “16 of the suspects were armed with a firearm or replica firearm,” and 12 “were prohibited possessors” who are legally forbidden from firearm ownership.
Non-fatal shootings were also down in the first half of 2023, with officials reporting “a nearly 15 percent decrease in then number of shooting victims” in the first six months of the year.
While property crime may be down per city officials, some Arizonans have expressed frustration at what they believe is “worsening crime” across the state.
Arizona restaurateur Kelly Cooper, a Republican who ran against Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) last year, blamed Stanton and crime policies championed by Arizona Democrats for “worsening crime” after having a third restaurant burglarized in June.
Cooper had his restaurant, BKD’s Backyard Joint in nearby Chandler, burglarized in what he told The Sun Times could have been either a targeted political attack or a typical break-in. Cooper, who hosts conservative speakers at his restaurant, added that his two other restaurants were recently burglarized.
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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
