Press Release

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

Date:

07/15/2010 (Last updated: 07/19/2010)

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 15, 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 28th through Sunday, July 4th, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 162 calls per day. During this period YPD:

Responded to 1,138 calls for service
Documented 231 police reports
Responded to 27 non-injury accidents
Responded to 15 injury accidents

Significant Incident & Community Events

On July 3rd, the Yuma Police Department conducted our second DUI Checkpoint in the 700 block East 24th Street. We contacted over 700 vehicles that resulted in 3 arrests
On July 4th an adult male was arrested for kidnapping and aggravated assault. The suspect kidnapped & assaulted his girlfriend and refused to come out of a home. YPD Special Enforcement Team entered the home entered and arrested him.
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 July 4th, the Yuma Police Department has:

Responded to 33,533 calls for service
Documented 6,906 police reports
Responded to 1,276 non-injury accidents
Responded to 455 injury accidents
Responded to 2,375 alarm calls resulting in 12 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 July 4th through June July 10th, Yuma Fire Department responded to 191 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:

5 Commercial Assignments including a florescent light ballast that was smoking inside a business and various alarms.
8 Motor Vehicle Crashes - 2 involving 3 vehicles.
172 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor) - 8 for difficulty breathing, 7 for chest pain, 31 fall victims, 8 unconscious people, 5 seizure cases, 14 subjects with mental problems, 6 diabetic emergencies, 32 trauma injuries, 1 possible stroke, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
28 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments that included: a cat in a tree, food burned in an oven, debris on fire along a canal bank, a fire in the kitchen of a residence, the smell of natural gas inside of a residence, a fire outside of a residence, 2 separate calls for an electrical pole fire, a tire fire on a boat trailer, a vehicle fire, a grass fire, and various alarms.

From January 1, 2010 through July 10th, 2010, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to 5,547 emergency calls for service including:

167 Commercial Assignments: 6 fires in businesses, 7 fires in apartments, and various alarms.
17 Hazardous Material Responses.
13 Mutual Aid Assignments.
486 Motor Vehicle Crashes.
4,672 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor): 213 for difficulty breathing, 297 for chest pain, 629 fall victims, 185 unconscious people, 209 people with an altered level of consciousness, 132 seizure cases, 106 diabetic emergencies, 54 possible stroke cases,12 poisonings, 358 subjects with mental problems, 8 allergic reactions,1,071 with a trauma injury, 27 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
596 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments: 34 fires in private residences, 29 dumpster fires,13 grass or brush fires, 14 fires outside of a structure, 31 vehicle fires, and various alarms.

The heat of summer appears to be upon us, and that might mean recreational activities outside of our area. Things like picnics, boating, and camping are just a few possibilities.

Enjoy your summer safely. Never use gasoline to start BBQ grills, and if you are camping, be sure to check the regulations on fires. Many areas will be closed to all fires (including charcoal grills) due to the extreme dry conditions.

When boating, always wear a Coast Guard approved Personal Flotation Device, and always have children closely supervised around water.

Our summer temperatures also place added strain on motor vehicles. Yuma residents are reminded to check hoses, fuel lines, and wiring for signs of wear and cracking. This is especially important if you plan to be traveling long distances and into remote areas. Make vehicle maintenance part of your summertime safety routine!

Also, don't forget to stay hydrated!

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

Parks and Recreation Department

For the period of July 7th through July 13th in the City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:

The Graffiti Busters Crew responded to and cleaned up 45 incidents of graffiti
16 rounds of 9-hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
638 rounds of 18-hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
The Putter Inn served 411 meals
58 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with 3,738 people attending those events
146 organized games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
The Yuma Art Center hosted 4 events with a total attendance of 635
234 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
113 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 7,096 members of the Yuma community participating in those programs

From July 1, 2019 to July 13, 2010:

83 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
34 rounds of 9-hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
1,244 rounds of-18 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf courses
The Putter Inn has served 764 meals
87 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 5,289
A total of 174 games have been played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
The Yuma Art Center hosted 5 events with a total attendance of 660
313 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
244 programs have been offered with 13,096 people attending those programs

There were 45 cases of graffiti abated during the period of July 6 through July 13th, with a total of 83 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.