Crime in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson's crime rate

There were 21,718 crimes reported in Tucson, Arizona in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 3,960 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Tucson compare?

Tucson has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Tucson's overall crime rate is 37% higher than the overall crime rate in Arizona. Statewide, there were 210,779 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,896 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Tucson, however, property crimes account for only about 83% of all offenses.

Despite accounting for a smaller than average share of total offenses, property crime is more prevalent in Tucson than it is nationwide. There were 17,943 property crimes in Tucson in 2019, or 3,272 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Tucson. There were 13,196 larcenies reported in Tucson in 2019, or 2,406 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 2,497 break-ins reported in Tucson in 2019, or 455 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Tucson, meanwhile, there were 2,250 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 410 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Tucson, however, violent offenses account for a larger 17% share of all reported crime.

At 688 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Tucson is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Tucson reported a total of 3,775 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Tucson. There were 2,103 aggravated assaults reported in Tucson in 2019, or 384 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 1,105 robberies reported in Tucson in 2019, a rate of 202 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 527 rapes reported in Tucson in 2019, or 96 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 40 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Tucson is 7.3 murders for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Tucson compared to other cities in Arizona

Tucson has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Arizona. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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