Could the drop in violent crime be linked to illegals leaving?

The latest FBI crime reports show an overall decrease in violent crime around the Phoenix area in 2007 and some observers believe it's the result of illegal aliens leaving Arizona for other states, such as Texas.

Based on data from 18 jurisdictions in metro Phoenix, violent crimes and property crimes both decreased 0.3 percent.

The city of Phoenix saw the same decrease in total crimes as the overall area, with a 0.3 percent decrease in total violent crimes and a 0.3 percent decrease in total property crimes.

Texas had over 1,000 more violent crimes, while violent crimes in Arizona dropped by over 750. Some attribute the drop to Arizona's Employer Sanction's Law. The bill's author, State Rep. Russell Pearce, said the numbers don't surprise him.

"It's a direct correlation," said Pearce. "As our numbers decrease in the area of illegal aliens, you will see the violent crime rate decrease."

The only community in the state that showed an increase in violent crime was Mesa. Rep. Pearce thinks that is due to the reluctance of Police Chief Gascon to enforce immigration laws.

"We have a police chief who has ignored his responsibilities to do his job," said Pierce.

The FBI says Paradise Valley had the greatest decrease in total violent crimes of any metro Phoenix jurisdiction - down 50 percent from 2006 to 2007. The jurisdiction did see a 3.2 percent increase in total property crimes.

About half of the Phoenix-area jurisdictions included in the data saw an increase in reported crime from 2006 to 2007.