Mesa crime is down

Police chief cites improved police tactics

Mesa’s crime rate is its lowest in 10 years, Police Chief George Gascón of the Mesa Police Department announced in April.  Last year, 48.1 people out of every 1,000 became victims of crimes, compared with 77.6 five years ago. The trend appears to be continuing in 2008, with crimes down 8.5 percent this year from where they were last year. He attribute the decline to more focused policing, tracking crime trends and better communication with the community