Press Release

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

Date:

09/02/2010

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 September 2, 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, August 16th through Sunday, August 22nd, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 164 calls per day. During this period YPD:

Responded to 1,193 calls for service
Documented 265 police reports
Responded to 41 non-injury accidents
Responded to 15 injury accidents

Significant Incidents & Community Events

On August 17th, a adult female was walking in the 2500 block of West 28th Street when an adult Hispanic male contacted her and asked her if she wanted a ride. When she declined, the male attempted to force her into his older full-sized van. She was able to escape with only minor injuries.
On August 19th, three adults and one Juvenile were arrested by Yuma County Sheriff's Office and the Yuma Police Department in reference to the "kick-in burglaries".
On August 21st, a male with a felony warrant from Maricopa County refused to come out of a residence in the 2200 block of South 3rd Avenue. The suspect eventually surrendered and was arrested, along with his father and girlfriend for hindering prosecution.
Drive Safe Location this week was 32nd Street, and the targeted intersections were all School Zones. As of August 9th, the Yuma Police Department has issued 1,718 citations in Project Drive Save areas.

From January 1st to July August 8th, the Yuma Police Department has:

Responded to 41,574 calls for service
Documented 8,635 police reports
Responded to 1,509 non-injury accidents
Responded to 542 injury accidents
Responded to 3,019 alarm calls resulting in 16 police reports

From January 1st through June 30, 2010, the Yuma Police Department:

Received 105,964 Incoming phone calls into the Public Safety Communications Center
Received 22,912 9-1-1 calls
Issued 4,248 Traffic Citations
Made 2,004 Adult Arrests and 640 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

Driving on roadways under construction can be confusing and time consuming due to restricted driving lanes, speed limits, and turning restrictions.

When driving in a construction zone, be sure to observe all posted traffic control devices.
Plan ahead if a construction zone is in your daily driving route.
Leave earlier and prepare for detours from your normal driving route, or take a completely different route to avoid the construction zone.
Driving restrictions in construction zones are in place for the safety of workers, pedestrians and drivers.
Remember to follow all lane, speed and turning restrictions, as they are enforceable traffic violations, and always...Drive Safe!

Yuma Fire Department

For the week of August 22nd through August 28th, Yuma Fire Department responded to 381 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:

10 Commercial Assignments this week, including : a trash can fire endangering a building, a small fire inside of a maintenance shop, a small fire outside of a restaurant, a fire inside of an apartment complex, an over heated blower motor at a nursing home, and various alarms.
2 Hazardous Materials Responses - : Diesel fuel spilled in a parking lot at a store and an aircraft leaking fuel.
1 Mutual Aid Response - assisting the Winterhaven Fire Department with a vehicle in a canal .
14 Motor Vehicle Crashes - 1 involving a motorcycle, and 1 involving one vehicle towing another vehicle.
208 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor) - 7 for difficulty breathing, 9 for chest pain, 31 fall victims, 5 unconscious people, 5 seizure cases, 13 people with psychiatric problems, 3 diabetic emergencies, 43 trauma injuries, 4 possible strokes, 1 allergic reaction, 2 near drownings (an adult and a 2 year old), and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
146 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments that included: Over 100 calls during a four hour time frame from a monsoon storm (including power lines down, transformer fires, houses flooding, trees on houses, smell of natural gas, etc.), a kitten stuck in a wall, 4 vehicle fires, a residential fire from a candle left unattended in a bathroom, a house fire that claimed the life of a family pet, and various alarms.

From January 1, 2010 through August 28, 2010, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to 7,488 emergency calls for service including:

205 Commercial Assignments: 8 fires in businesses, 9 fires in apartments, and various alarms.
21 Hazardous Material Responses.
16 Mutual Aid Assignments.
582 Motor Vehicle Crashes.
5,793 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor): 256 for difficulty breathing, 356 for chest pain, 760 fall victims, 225 unconscious people, 262 people with an altered level of consciousness, 166 seizure cases, 133 diabetic emergencies, 66 possible stroke cases, 13 poisonings, 442 people with psychiatric problems, 11 allergic reactions, 1,304 with a trauma injury, 34 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and miscellaneous other illnesses and injuries.
871 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments: 44 fires in private residences, 36 dumpster fires, 18 grass or brush fires, 17 fires outside of a structure, 42 vehicle fires, and various alarms.

A weekend storm caused over 100 emergency responses from the Yuma Fire Department during a 4 hour span. Some of those calls for service involved burning or damaged power lines/poles. Since it appears "monsoon" season is here, we probably can expect more summer storms to pass through our area. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Always treat any power lines as if they were live. Don't touch them! Leave that to the experts. Even if a line is not charged at that moment, it could become live without warning. A common time for lines to be down would be during or after a storm like we just experienced. Puddles or flowing water expand the area of danger, so be sure to stay well clear of them. Instead of stepping over them, go all the way around.

If power is out, intersections may be dark and the traffic control lights may not be working. If that is the case, approach the intersection with caution and treat it as if it was controlled by four way stop signs. It is not just a good safety procedure, it is the law!

Many traffic accidents seem to occur during or just after a rain storm. Roadways are slick and you need more room to stop. So slow down and use extra caution. Visibility is also reduced. Have you inspected your windshield wipers lately? Heat and direct sunlight can quickly age your wipers. Old and worn wipers can make visibility worse instead of better.

The time to make our personal and family plans/preparations are BEFORE the emergency occurs. We probably have not seen the end of "Monsoon Season," so be careful and drive safely!

Did you know you can follow the Yuma Fire Department on Twitter as we are often able to inform the public on major incident locations? Visit www.twitter.com/YumaFireDept. (This link will take you to an external website that is not part of the City of Yuma official website.)

Parks and Recreation Department

For the period of August 25th through August 31st in the City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:

The Graffiti Busters Crew responded to and cleaned up 38 incidents of graffiti
9 rounds of golf were played at Arroyo Dunes Golf course
518 rounds of 18-hole golf were played at Desert Hills Golf Course
The Putter Inn served 391 meals
19 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 3,333
No organized games were played at City of Yuma athletic facilities this week
No events were held at the Yuma Art Center because of our Summer hiatus
147 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
5 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 1,879 members of the Yuma community participating in those programs
No programs were offered at the Yuma Art Center because of our Summer hiatus

From July 1, 2019 to August 31, 2010:

420 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
113 rounds of golf have been played at Arroyo Dunes Golf Course
5,035 rounds of golf have been played at Desert Hills Golf Course
The Putter Inn has served 4,288 meals
292 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 18,714
A total of 900 games have been played at City of Yuma athletic facilities
The Yuma Art Center has hosted 17 events with a total attendance of 2,063
1,350 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
489 Recreation Programs have been offered with 46,410 people attending those programs
21 programs were offered at the Yuma Art Center, with 282 attendees

There were 38 cases of graffiti abated during the period of August 25th through August 31st, with a total of 420 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.