Following a trend throughout the East Valley, the crime rate in Chandler has dropped to its lowest point this decade, according to the city's most recent statistics.
The number of crimes for every thousand people in the city has fallen to roughly 35 - down from nearly 45 in 2000, according to numbers released online this week by the Chandler Police Department.
Officer Dave Ramer, a spokesman for the police department, attributed the decrease to technological improvements such as "bait cars" that catch would-be car thieves at malls and other shopping centers.
Although the per capita crime rate fell, the raw number of crimes rose because of the area's booming population growth.
"Of course we're seeing an increase in the number of calls we get as the population increases," Ramer said.
In 2007, a total of 8,826 crimes were reported in Chandler, according to city records. That was up from 8,359 in 2000.
Additionally, the rate of violent crimes stayed relatively in line with other crimes. For example, there were four reported homicides in 2000. In 2007, there were 10.
However, aggravated assaults nearly doubled to 517 from 259 during the same period seven years earlier.
Heading into the decade, there were about 150,000 residents. Since then, the city has exploded to about 250,000 people.
However, Chandler does not hold a monopoly on declining crime rates in the East Valley.
Crime in Scottsdale is at its lowest rate in a generation.
Violent crimes in that city hit a 23-year low, according to numbers also released this week.
