Press Release

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

Date:

07/08/2010 (Last updated: 07/12/2010)

Summary:

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.

Contact:

Greg HylandDirector of Communications & Public Affairs

Information For This Reporting Period and Year to Date (As of July 8, 2010)

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 period of Monday, June 21st through Sunday, June 27th, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 158 calls per day. During this period YPD:

Responded to 1,107 calls for service
Documented 209 police reports
Responded to 36 non-injury accidents
Responded to 7 injury accidents

Drive Safe Location was 16th Street and our targeted intersection was the 16th Street construction corridor. As of June 28th, the Yuma Police Department has issued 1,393 citations in Project Drive Save areas.

From January 1st to June 27th, the Yuma Police Department has:

Responded to 32,395 calls for service
Documented 6,675 police reports
Responded to 1,246 non-injury accidents
Responded to 442 injury accidents
Responded to 2,294 alarm calls resulting in 11 police reports

From January 1st through May 31, 2010, the Yuma Police Department:

Received 91,088 Incoming phone calls into the Public Safety Communications Center
Received 19,434 9-1-1 calls
Issued 3,642 Traffic Citations
Made 1,693 Adult Arrests and 569 Juvenile Arrests

In Calendar year 2009, the Yuma Police Department:

Received 208,555 calls into the Public Safety Communications Center
Received 52,035 9-1-1 calls
Issued 8,288 Traffic Citations
Made 1,317 Juvenile Arrests and 4,164 Adult Arrests
Responded to 84,332 calls for service
Documented 13,740 police reports
Responded to 2,384 non-injury accidents
Responded to 933 injury accidents
Responded to 5,085 alarm calls resulting in 25 police reports

Red light violations cause over 5,000 traffic accidents a year in Arizona[1]. Arizona traffic law requires motorists approaching an intersection to reduce their speed regardless of the color of the traffic signal. Doing so prepares motorist to stop for signal changes, as well as other hazards. A yellow traffic signal is a warning that the red signal is about to be activated and motorist should be braking rather than accelerating. Motorists facing a steady red traffic signal are required to stop prior to entering the intersection. Motorist should do their part by braking on yellow, stopping on red, and always Drive Safe!

[1] Source: Arizona Department of Transportation

Yuma Fire Department

For the week of June 27th through June July 3rd, Yuma Fire Department responded to 191 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:

7 Commercial Assignments including malicious fire alarm activation from a child, food burned on a stove at a residence, the smell of natural gas near some businesses, a broken water line, and various alarms.
15 Motor Vehicle Crashes - 1 involving a pedestrian, 1 involving 3 vehicles, 1 involving a wall, and 2 rollover crashes.
153 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor) - 8 for difficulty breathing, 6 for chest pain, 26 fall victims, 9 unconscious people, 2 seizure cases, 6 subjects with mental problems, 2 diabetic emergencies, 34 trauma injuries, 3 possible strokes, 3 separate calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
16 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments that included: kitten stuck in a storm drain, overcooked food in a microwave, 2 separate vehicle fires, the smell of ammonia in an industrial area, the smell of propane in a commercial area, a blown electrical transformer, and various alarms.

From January 1, 2010 through July 3rd, 2010, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to 5,547 emergency calls for service including:

162 Commercial Assignments: 6 fires in businesses, 7 fires in apartments, and various alarms.
17 Hazardous Material Responses. 13 Mutual Aid Assignments.
478 Motor Vehicle Crashes.
4,500 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor): 205 for difficulty breathing, 290 for chest pain, 598 fall victims, 177 unconscious people, 200 people with an altered level of consciousness, 127 seizure cases, 100 diabetic emergencies, 53 possible stroke cases, 12 poisonings, 344 subjects with mental problems, 8 allergic reactions, 1,039 with a trauma injury, 27 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
568 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments: 33 fires in private residences, 27 dumpster fires, 12 grass or brush fires, 14 fires outside of a structure, 31 vehicle fires, and various alarms.

Many of the injury cases the Yuma Fire Department responds to are the result of falls. Last week at least 26 emergency medical responses were for injuries related to falls, and there have been almost 600 so far this year. This could be something as simple as tripping in a parking lot or cases often more serious, like falling from a ladder or roof. No matter your age or activity, it pays to watch your footing and be careful.

According to the Center for Disease Control, More than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States, and among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. Older adults can take several steps to protect their independence and reduce their risk of falling. They can: exercise regularly and improve balance; ask their doctor or pharmacist to review their medicines-both prescription and over-the counter-to reduce side effects and interactions; have their eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year; improve the lighting in their home; and reduce hazards in their home that can lead to falls.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, unintentional falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries among children. Some tips for safeguarding children in the home include keeping stairs clear of toys and other items that could cause someone to trip, teaching children to hold the handrail when on stairs or escalators, and always tie their shoelaces to avoid tripping over them. Also, make sure tall furniture, clocks, televisions, etc. are secured to the wall to prevent falling on children; and watch children closely while they are on the playground.

The best treatment in the world cannot compare to never being injured in the first place. Safety is no accident!

For more information, contact the City of Yuma Community Relations Office at 373-5023.

Parks and Recreation Department

For the period of June 23rd through June 30th in the City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:

The Graffiti Busters Crew responded to and cleaned up 57 incidents of graffiti
22 rounds of 9-hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
751 rounds of 18-hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
The Putter Inn served 551 meals
48 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with 2,270 people attending those events
182 organized games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
The Yuma Art Center hosted 5 events with a total attendance of 240
129 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
109 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 8,209 members of the Yuma community participating in those programs

From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010:

3,407 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
22,773 rounds of 9-hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
41,867 rounds of-18 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
The Putter Inn has served 47,067 meals
1,251 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 143,926
A total of 6,923 games have been played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
The Yuma Art Center hosted 163 events with a total attendance of 43,041
7,656 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
2,190 programs have been offered with 226,719 people attending those programs

There were 57 cases of graffiti abated during the period of June 9th through June 15th, with a total of 3,407 removed from July 1st to date.

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.

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.