City of Yuma Parks & Recreation, Fire, Police Calls for Service & Incidents

Corrected Information For This Reporting Period and Year to Date (As of October 2, 2009)

Yuma, Arizona - Employees of the City of Yuma Police Department, Fire Department and Parks & Recreation Department responded to the following calls for service and reports of vandalism and graffiti this week.

Parks and Recreation Department

For the week of September 23rd through September 29th, City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:

• Responded to and cleaned up 42 incidents of graffiti
• 60 rounds of 9 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• 464 rounds of 18 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• The Putter Inn served 125 meals
• 14 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 1,844 people attending those events
• A total of 144 games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
• The Yuma Art Center hosted 4 events with total attendance of 290
• 96 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
• 6 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 3,184 members of the Yuma community and 27 dogs participating in those programs

Since July 1, 2009:

• 799 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
• 969 rounds of 9 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• 6,572 rounds of 18 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• The Putter Inn has served 4,846 meals
• 348 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 22,551
• A total of 1,627 games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
• The Yuma Art Center hosted 34 events with a total attendance of 5,273
• 1,031 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
• 335 programs were offered with 81,798 people attending those programs

There were 42 cases of graffiti abated during the week of September 23 through September 29, 2009.  Graffiti cleanup in the restrooms and park at Cibola Softball Fields caused $50 in damage and took two hours of cleanup.  There were 13 sprinklers damaged at Kennedy Park.  At the West Wetlands Park, the solar light had to be replaced because someone cut it into two pieces.   The cost to taxpayers to replace this one light is $7,500.

Vandalism and graffiti clean-up costs the Yuma taxpayers over $200,000 each year.   Please help us reduce vandalism by reporting incidences of crime to 78-Crime and Graffiti to the hot line of 329-2828.  If you witness a crime in progress, call 9-1-1.

Yuma Police Department

For the week of September 14th through September 20h, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 146 calls per day.  During this week YPD:

• Responded to 1,022 calls for service
• Documented 199 police reports
• Responded to 29 non-injury accidents
• Responded to 11 injury accidents

Significant incidents and community events include:

• The Drive Safe Location was 24th Street and the targeted intersection was 16th Street and 1st Avenue.  As of September 14th, Operation Drive Safe has resulted in 2,259 citations being issued.

From January 1st to September 6th, the Yuma Police Department has:

• Responded to 45,964 calls for service
• Documented 9,889 police reports
• Responded to 1,741 noninjury accidents
• Responded to 692 injury accidents
• Responded to 3,993 alarm calls resulting in 20 police reports

Last Fiscal Year (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009), the Yuma Police Department:

• Received 27,832 9-1-1 calls
• Received 109,450 incoming calls in the Public Safety Communications office
• Issued 4,010 Traffic Citations
• Made 748 Juvenile Arrests and 2,113 Adult Arrests

Rear-end collisions exceeded 50,000 during 2007 and 43,000 during 2008 across Arizona, accounting for about 45% of all reported collisions those years[1]. A safe following distance in optimal driving conditions is generally considered to be a minimum of 2 seconds. At 35 miles per hour, the average motorist would require about 135 feet (the average length of 2 tractor trailers) to come to a complete stop. Motorist should do their part by maintaining a safe following distance, obeying speed limits and as always Drive Safe!

[1] Source: Arizona Department of Transportation

Remember to follow all lane, speed and turning restrictions, especially in road construction areas, as they are enforceable traffic violations. 

Yuma Fire Department

For the week of September 13th through September 19th, Yuma Fire Department responded to 207 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:

• 8 Commercial Assignments including various false alarms
• 1 Hazardous Material response for the smell of propane near a motor home parked next to a residence
• 19 Motor Vehicle Accidents, with 24 total patients, with one head-on collission and one involving a light pole
• 165 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor), five for difficulty breathing, eleven for chest pain, 18 fall victims, five unconscious people, three seizure cases, three diabetic emergencies, two possible stroke victims, one allergic reaction, one for a possible poisoning/overdose, 15 patients with mental problems, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries
• 14 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments that included a a fire started by children on the outside of a residence, a mattress fire started by a small child, a response for an unattended cooking fire at a home, a hay bale on fire, and various alarms

From January 1st to September 19th, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to 8,130 emergency calls for service, which include:

• 269 Commercial Assignments, including -13 fires in businesses, 11 fires in apartments, and various alarms
• 22 Hazardous Material Responses
• 12 Mutual Aid Assignments
• 767 Motor Vehicle Crashes
• 6,198 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor), Including - 820 for difficulty breathing, 544 for chest pain, 790 fall victims, 523 unconscious people, 197 seizure cases, 190 diabetic emergencies, 128 possible stroke cases, 108 poisoning/overdoses, 169 patients with mental problems, 52 allergic reactions, 58 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries
• 862 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments, including  - 42 fires in private residences, 65 dumpster fires, 17 grass or brush fires, 18 fires outside of a structure, 49 vehicle fires, and various alarms

This week the Yuma Fire Department responded to three different cases that involved choking victims, and one of those was a child under the age of 1. According to Safekids Worldwide, airway obstruction - choking, strangulation or suffocation - is the leading cause of accidental death in infants and the fourth leading cause of accidental death in children ages 14 and under. Each year, approximately 900 children ages 14 and under die from airway obstruction injuries.

The majority of childhood choking injuries and deaths are associated with food items. Choking occurs when food or other small items lodge in the throat and block the airway. Children are most at risk from small round objects like pieces of hot dogs, candies, nuts, grapes, marshmallows, and popcorn. Dangerous non food items include balloons, buttons, marbles, coins, and toys with small removable pieces.

Don't let small children play with small items like these or toys with small pieces. An easy test is, if it can pass through an empty toilet paper roll, it can present a choking danger to a small child. Adults (and older children) should know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

For More Information

For further information, please contact Greg Hyland, CPM, the City of Yuma's Director of Communications & Public Affairs at (928) 373-5023 or by e-mail or Dave Nash, City of Yuma Public Affairs Coordinator at (928) 373-5015 or by e-mail.

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Media Contacts

Members of the media may contact Director of Communications and Public Affairs Greg Hyland, CPM at (928) 373-5023 or (928) 580-4751, or Public Affairs Coordinator Dave Nash at (928) 373-5015, or (928) 941-0199.

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