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

Corrected Information For This Reporting Period And Year To Date (As of October 8, 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.

Yuma Police Department

For the week of September 21st through September 27h, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 185 calls per day.  During this week YPD:

• Responded to 1,298 calls for service
• Documented 274 police reports
• Responded to 29 non-injury accidents
• Responded to 18 injury accidents

Significant incidents and community events include:

• On September 22nd, twenty-seven people graduated YPD Citizen's Academy XII after an eight week course - Congratulations!
• On September 24th, Officers assisted the Humane Society of Yuma with a animal neglect investigation in the 1000 block S. 1st Avenue. One adult female was referred to the City Prosecutor for possible charges.
• On September 27th, an adult male was arrested for attempted homicide after shots were fired at an occupied apartment in the 2700 block S. Virginia Drive.

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 47,262 calls for service
• Documented 10,163 police reports
• Responded to 1,803 noninjury accidents
• Responded to 691 injury accidents
• Responded to 3,872 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. 

Parks and Recreation Department

For the week of September 30th through October 6th, City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:

• Responded to and cleaned up 55 incidents of graffiti
• 2 rounds of 9 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses (Arroyo Dunes and Desert Hills are both in the process of overseeding for the Winter golf season)
• 59 rounds of 18 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses (Arroyo Dunes and Desert Hills are both in the process of overseeding for the Winter golf season)
• The Putter Inn served 307 meals
• 15 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 2,470 people attending those events
• A total of 160 games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
• The Yuma Art Center hosted 4 events with total attendance of 952
• 105 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
• 21 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 3,032 members of the Yuma community participating in those programs

Since July 1, 2009:

• 854 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
• 971 rounds of 9 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• 6,631 rounds of 18 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
• The Putter Inn has served 5,153 meals
• 363 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 25,021
• A total of 1,787 games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
• The Yuma Art Center hosted 38 events with a total attendance of 6,225
• 1,136 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
• 356 programs were offered with 84,830 people attending those programs

There were 55 cases of graffiti abated during the week of September 30 through October 6, 2009.

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 Fire Department

For the week of September 27th through October 3rd, Yuma Fire Department responded to 226 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:

• 6 Commercial Assignments including various false alarms
• 11 Motor Vehicle Accidents, with 21 total patients, with one involving a motorcycle and one involving a fence
• 178 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor), nine for difficulty breathing, sixteen for chest pain, eighteen fall victims, five unconscious people, four seizure cases, five  diabetic emergencies, one possible poisoning/overdose, fourteen patients with mental problems, two calls for a child locked in a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries
• 31 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments that included a snake removal, a fire in the garage of a home, two calls for an unauthorized burn of brush and trash, the smell of natural gas inside of a residence, a vehicle fire, a fire in a stall of a public restroom, a fire pit smoking that was not completely extinguished after its use, an electrical smell inside of a residence that was found to be a burned out floor fan, food that burned on a stove while an occupant was sleeping, a trash can fire, rescuing a man in a canal, and various alarms

From January 1st to September 19th, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to 8,356 emergency calls for service, which include:

• 275 Commercial Assignments, including -13 fires in businesses, 11 fires in apartments, and various alarms
• 22 Hazardous Material Responses
• 12 Mutual Aid Assignments
• 778 Motor Vehicle Crashes
• 6,376 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor), Including - 829 for difficulty breathing, 560 for chest pain, 808 fall victims, 528 unconscious people, 201 seizure cases, 195 diabetic emergencies, 128 possible stroke cases, 109 poisoning/overdoses, 183 patients with mental problems, 52 allergic reactions, 60 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries
• 893 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments, including  - 43 fires in private residences, 66 dumpster fires, 17 grass or brush fires, 18 fires outside of a structure, 49 vehicle fires, and various alarms

Last week the Yuma Fire Department responded to two calls for unauthorized burning of materials, and one for a fire pit that was not completely extinguished after its use. On Sunday, YFD personnel were sent for mutual aid to a wild land fire burning in California. There is also a serious wild land fire currently burning in Williams, Arizona.   This reminds us that we live in an arid area that does present risks for fire. With the weather cooling down, you might be thinking about outdoor recreation. 

• Use extreme care in the use of all fire, and potential fire causing activities, whether it is for industrial, home, or recreational use
• Make sure campfires and smoking materials are fully extinguished
• Use spark arrestors in mechanical equipment such as chain saws and off-road vehicles
• When you pull off a roadway, be sure not to park in grassy areas
• Check the regulations on fires. Many areas will be closed to all fires (including charcoal grills) due to the extreme dry conditions
• Be aware of other weather conditions, such as the wind speed and direction. Un-permitted fires are unlawful and also result in unnecessary Fire Department responses.

Fortunately, Yuma does not have much of the "wildland-urban interface" where brush and forest lands enter into our community, but we do have large amounts of agricultural land.  Traditionally our biggest threat has been along the river. Development of parkland areas along the river, like the West and East Wetlands, has reduced the threat to the community by reducing fuel and adding green space areas.  However, this threat is not completely eliminated and if you are traveling to other areas of our state or surrounding states, please use caution and obey all fire regulations. Every year, wildfires account for millions of dollars in property damage, and cause serious injuries and deaths.
 
Reminder that this week is Fire Prevention Week! "Stay Fire Smart - Don't Get Burned!!!"

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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