Tucson sees surge in homicides

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TUCSON (KVOA) – The number of murders in the city has increased dramatically this year. But is it the pandemic, the economy, drugs, or something else?

According to Tucson Police, there have been 30 homicides so far this year.

The last two murders happened just this week.

Lt. Corey Doggett heads the violent crime unit. They are nine more than this time last year.

The Digging Deeper team asked about the reason for the increase.

“I can’t tell you why one thing stood out as a catalyst for those numbers to rise,” Doggett said.

What he knows if the trend continues until the end of the year: “We’d average 90, I think,” he said.

Irma Garcia’s son was one of those murdered in 2019. Jason was killed after a physical altercation downtown. No arrests were made at this point.

She said the rise in murders “definitely affects me and other unsolved cases. You wonder what will happen to mine.

James Gierke heads Homicide Survivors. The organization works with the backward families like the Garcias.

He said they saw an increase in service.

“Our community is bleeding,” said Gierke. “And it’s something we’re all very concerned about.”

Gierke added that the level of violence was also worrying.

“We have seen an incredible increase in violent crime and homicides as a hole in our community,” said Gierke. “It has a deep and lasting impact on everyone who is affected.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department had six murders. They had seven around this time last year.

“Your rural areas are always lower than city centers because of a number of things,” said PCSD Sheriff Chris Nanos. “But the biggest problem is density, population.”

Sheriff Nanos is a former homicide detective.

“I’m taking a closer look at what we can do to prevent this,” he said.

With the rise in murders, the Tucson Police Department has added a detective and is using other violent crime detectives to assist with the murder investigation.

“We want to make sure that as the quantity increases, we don’t lose quality,” said Doggett.

So while there are fewer officers on the streets and more violent crime is occurring in the city, the question is, “Is Tucson safe?”

“I think so,” said Doggett.

Doggett added that despite the high number of murders, they are solving the cases.

“Our closure rates and our homicides solvency ratios are well above the national average of 60 plus percent,” he said. “There are currently over 80% resolved rates.”

Lt. Doggett credits the community for helping the police solve many cases.

Irma Garcia hopes that she will solve the murder of her son.

“I want to ask the person to get in touch, they know they can remain anonymous, call 88-CRIME,” Garcia said. “Not just for the sake of my family, but what if you and your loved ones were.”

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