Mesa, Arizona is the third largest city in Arizona, trailing behind Phoenix and Tucson, and is a suburb of Phoenix. The Mesa Police Department provides law enforcement services for the 133.13 sq. mile area of the city, 132.93 sq. miles of it being land and 0.2 sq. miles of it being water.
The population of Mesa, Arizona is estimated to be 451,391. Averaged annually, the city experiences 15,944 crimes yearly. Accounting for approximately eleven percent of these crimes is violent crime at 1,804 yearly. Murders occur at a rate of 0.03 per 1000 residents (14 yearly), rapes occur at a rate of 0.38 per 1000 residents (172 yearly), robberies occur at a rate of 1.04 per 1000 residents (469 yearly), and assaults occur at a rate of 2.55 per 1000 residents (1,149 yearly). In total, violent crime occurs at a rate of 4 per 1000 residents yearly, meaning 0.4% of Mesa’s denizens will be victims of it yearly. The remaining eighty-nine percent of these crimes is property crime at 14,140 yearly. Burglaries occur at a rate of 5.94 per 1000 residents (2,681 yearly), thefts occur at a rate of 23.42 per 1000 residents (10,572 yearly), and vehicular thefts occur at a rate of 1.97 per 1000 residents (8,867 yearly). In total, property crime occurs at a rate of 31.33 per 1000 residents yearly, meaning 3% of Mesa’s denizens will be victims of it yearly.
The MPD divides the city into four distinct districts for patrolling services. The Central Patrol District extends north of Broadway and west of Horne, bounded by the city limits. The Dobson Patrol District extends south of Broadway and west of Horne, bounded by the city limits. The Red Mountain Patrol District encompasses everything lying between Horne and Higley. The Superstition Patrol District extends east of Higley, bounded by the city limits.
The Mesa Police Department CID (Criminal Investigations Division) is structured into nine individual units. The Homicide Unit handles follow up investigations requiring expertise or time in excess of the capacity of preliminary investigations. Investigations falling under their purview include homicide, industrial accidents where one or more deaths occur, accidental or natural deaths with unusual elements, shootings involving departmental members, drownings, child and infant deaths, and any other cases deemed warranted by agreement of departmental leadership.
The Recovered Property Unit handles pawnshop compliance, stolen property investigations related to pawnshops, recovery of stolen property and guns, and required oversight duties involving scrap metal yards, pawnshops, auction houses, and second hand dealers.
The Document Crimes Unit handles crime involving counterfeit currency, forged checks, counterfeit checks, washed checks, insufficient funds checks, credit card fraud, identity theft, internet crimes, mail theft, and fraud crimes including citations or arrest, credit, medical, and phone and utilities fraud.
The Organized Crime Unit focuses on criminal syndicates and drug trafficking. The Mesa’s Most Wanted Unit exclusively pursues those on the city’s most wanted list. The Family Violence Unit handles all incidents of domestic violence crimes. The Victim Services Unit provides support and communication to victims of crimes in Mesa. The Sex Offenders Notification and tracking Unit (known as SONET) handles all business dealing with registered offenders within Mesa city limits.
The Person Crimes Unit handles preliminary homicide investigations, suspicious deaths, shootings involving members, violent crimes, kidnappings, non-domestic stalkings, and robberies. Within this unit are the Violent Crimes Unit and the Robbery Unit.
The Mesa Police Department Records Division is the central repository for all police reports and records related to them. A monthly statistical report is sent by this division to the FBI for the purposes of tracking crime. The MPD website has a page for the Records Division wherein information and links are provided for their various services. Police reports can be obtained from the division, free for victims or with a fee for others. They request those requesting a police report to use the Public Records Request form found on their site. Should you wish to obtain criminal history information or clearance letters, you will need to perform a MAARS (Mesa Adult Arrest Records Search) request, also through the Public Records Request form, using the individuals name, date of birth, and social security number where applicable.