Theft on the rise during the summer

Much like the temperatures in Maricopa, theft and burglaries are also on the rise this summer.

It is not uncommon for the summer months to see a rise in crime. Often, a rise in property damage and theft occurs. In June however, theft accounted for nearly 93 percent of the incidents reported to the Maricopa Police Department.

Out of the 65 incidents in the Maricopa Police Department’s June crime report, 60 were alleged to be a form of theft or burglary. Of those 60 alleged incidents, 36 involved thefts or unlawful entry on personal property, 16 involved burglaries in local businesses, three involved property being stolen out of vehicles and five vehicles were reportedly stolen.

“We do see a slight increase in crime during the summer time,” MPD spokesman Ricardo Alvarado said. “It’s mostly criminal damage incidents. However, we deploy when we can extra patrol measures to combat that. Also with our Community Action Team (CAT) going online soon, we should be able to hopefully curb this summer trend that happens.”