Phoenix, Arizona

==Government==
{{See also|List of mayors of Phoenix, Arizona}}
[[File:Azcap.jpg|thumb|alt=frontal view of the Arizona State Capitol, in winter, framed by the bare limbs of trees, showing the Arizona granite of the building topped by a copper dome|The [[Arizona State Capitol]], which used to house the state legislature, is now a museum.]]
In 1913, Phoenix adopted a new form of government, switching from the mayor-council system to the council-manager system, making it one of the first cities in the United States with this form of city government, where a [[city manager]] supervises all city departments and executes the policies adopted by the council.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|p=73}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/pio/city-publications/city-history |publisher=City of Phoenix |title=City of Phoenix History: Establishing a Council-Manager Government |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114832/https://www.phoenix.gov/pio/city-publications/city-history |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Today, Phoenix represents the largest municipal government of this type in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanager/executive-team/ed-zuercher |publisher=City of Phoenix |title=City Manager Ed Zuercher |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911132043/https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanager/executive-team/ed-zuercher |archive-date=September 11, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[city council]] consists of a [[List of mayors of Phoenix, Arizona|mayor]] and eight city council members. While the mayor is elected in a citywide election, [[Phoenix City Council]] members are elected by votes only in the districts they represent, with both the Mayor and the Council members serving four-year terms.<ref name="phoenix.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanager/how-city-organized |title=How the City Works |publisher=City of Phoenix |access-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907070327/https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanager/how-city-organized |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The mayor of Phoenix is [[Kate Gallego]]. The mayor and city council members each have equal voting power in regards to setting city policy and passing rules and regulations.<ref name="phoenix.gov"/> [[Sunshine Review]] gave the city's website a Sunny Award for its [[government transparency|transparency]] efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ballotpedia.org/2010_Sunny_Awards |title=2010 Sunny Awards |publisher=ballotpedia.org |access-date=April 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204024404/http://ballotpedia.org/2010_Sunny_Awards |archive-date=February 4, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===State government facilities===
[[File:Phoenix city hall-1600x1200.jpg|thumb|alt=photos showing the short obelisk signage showing City Hall, and topped with the seal of the city, a stylized maroon phoenix. The semi-circular front of the building in the background, adorned with a stylized sunburst.|left|Phoenix City Hall, showing the city's logo, [[Phoenix (mythology)|the phoenix bird]]]]
As the capital of Arizona, Phoenix houses the [[Arizona Legislature|state legislature]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H&SortBy=1 |publisher=Arizona State Legislature |title=Member Roster |access-date=April 4, 2014 |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326180026/http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H&SortBy=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> along with numerous state government agencies, many of which are in the State Capitol district immediately west of downtown. The [[Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections]] operates the [[Adobe Mountain School|Adobe Mountain]] and Black Canyon Schools in Phoenix.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20081225054351/http://www.juvenile.state.az.us/Contacts/Facilities.htm Safe Schools/Secure Facilities]." Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. Retrieved August 13, 2010.</ref> Another major state government facility is the Arizona State Hospital, operated by the [[Arizona Department of Health Services]]. This is a mental health center and is the only medical facility run by the state government.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/az/arizona-state-hospital-6860230/details |title=Arizona State Hospital Stats & Services |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref> The headquarters of numerous Arizona state government agencies are in Phoenix, with many in the State Capitol district.

===Federal government facilities===
The [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] operates the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix|Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Phoenix]], which is within the city limits, near its northern boundary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/phx/ |title=FCI Phoenix |publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref>

The [[Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse|Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse]], the U.S. District Court of Arizona, is on Washington Street downtown. It is named in honor of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], who was raised in Arizona.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/locations/phoenix |title=Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse |publisher=United States District Court, District of Arizona |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref>

The Federal Building is at the intersection of Van Buren Street and First Avenue downtown. It contains various federal field offices and the local division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/unitedstatesfederalbuildingandcourthouse-phoenix-az-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626050959/http://www.emporis.com/building/unitedstatesfederalbuildingandcourthouse-phoenix-az-usa |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2014 |title=United States Federal Building and Courthouse |publisher=emporis.com |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref> This building formerly housed the U.S. District Court offices and courtrooms, but these were moved in 2001 to the new Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse. Before the construction of this building in 1961, federal government offices were housed in the historic [[U.S. Post Office (Phoenix, Arizona)|U.S. Post Office]] on Central Avenue, completed in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/043# |title=Federal Building–U.S. Post Office, Phoenix, AZ |publisher=U.S. General Services Administration |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref>

===Crime===
[[File:Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower DSC 2708 ad.JPG|thumb|Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower at 1700 W. Washington St.]]
{{Main|Crime in Phoenix}}

By the 1960s, crime was a major problem in Phoenix, and by the 1970s, crime continued to increase in the city at a faster rate than almost anywhere else in the country.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|p=252}} It was during this time frame when an incident occurred in Phoenix which would have national implications. On March 16, 1963, [[Ernesto Miranda]] was arrested and charged with rape. The subsequent Supreme Court ruling on June 13, 1966, ''[[Miranda v. Arizona]]'', has led to practice in the United States of issuing a [[Miranda warning|Miranda Warning]] to all suspected criminals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mirandawarning.org/historyofmirandawarning.html |title=History of Miranda Warning |publisher=mirandawarning.org |access-date=April 4, 2014}}</ref>

With Phoenix's rapid growth, one of the prime areas of criminal activity was land fraud. The practice became so widespread that newspapers would refer to Phoenix as ''the Tainted Desert''.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|pp=252–253}} These land frauds led to one of the more infamous murders in the history of the valley, when ''Arizona Republic'' writer [[Don Bolles]] was murdered by a car bomb in 1976.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|p=253}}{{sfn|Luckingham|1995|pp=211–212}} It was believed his investigative reporting on organized crime and land fraud in Phoenix made him a target.<ref name=AZCentral1>{{cite web |url=http://archive.azcentral.com/specials/special01/articles/0528bolles-overview.html |title=Journalism students revisit the death of Don Bolles |publisher=Arizona Republic/azcentral.com |date=March 28, 2006 |access-date=April 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140404185249/http://archive.azcentral.com/specials/special01/articles/0528bolles-overview.html |archive-date=April 4, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1993-02-10/news/the-bolles-trial-goes-into-reruns/full |title=The Bolles Trial Goes Into Reruns |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Tom |date=February 10, 1993 |website=Phoenix New Times |access-date=April 4, 2014 |archive-date=June 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627180127/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1993-02-10/news/the-bolles-trial-goes-into-reruns/full |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=bolles>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special01/0528bolles-keyplayers.html |title=Key players in the Bolles' case |publisher=Arizona Republic/azcentral.com |access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref>
Bolles was the only reporter from a major U.S. newspaper to be murdered on U.S. soil due to his coverage of a story.<ref name=AZCentral1/> Max Dunlap was convicted of first-degree murder in the case.<ref name=bolles />

Street gangs and the drug trade had turned into public safety issues by the 1980s, and the crime rate in Phoenix continued to grow.{{sfn|VanderMeer|2010|p=323}}
After seeing a peak in the early and mid-1990s, the city has seen a general decrease in crime rates. The Maricopa County Jail system is the fourth-largest in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual Report |url=https://www.mcso.org/documents/AnnualReport.pdf |publisher=Maricopa County Sheriff's Office |access-date=December 26, 2018 |page=42 |date=December 31, 2017 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040915/https://www.mcso.org/documents/AnnualReport.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The violent crime rate peaked in 1993 at 1146 crimes per 100,000 people, while the property crime rate peaked a few years earlier, in 1989, at 9,966 crimes per 100,000.<ref name=fbi>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeJurisbyJurisLarge.cfm |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516072620/http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeJurisbyJurisLarge.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2016 |title=Uniform Crime Reports |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=March 21, 2016 }}</ref>

In 2001 and 2002, Phoenix ranked first in the nation in vehicle thefts, with over 22,000 and 25,000 cars stolen each year respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.888notheft.com/888main/pages/III%20-%20Auto%20Theft%20is%20up!.htm |title=Auto Theft, Key Facts |publisher=Insurance Information Institute |access-date=February 19, 2014 |date=June 2002}}</ref> It has declined every year since then, eventually falling to 7,200 in 2014, a drop of almost 70% during that timeframe.<ref name="fbi2014">{{cite web |title=2014 Crime in the United States: Arizona |url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-8/table-8-by-state/Table_8_Offenses_Known_to_Law_Enforcement_by_Arizona_by_City_2014.xls |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328050652/https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-8/table-8-by-state/Table_8_Offenses_Known_to_Law_Enforcement_by_Arizona_by_City_2014.xls |archive-date=March 28, 2016 |access-date=March 21, 2016 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> The Phoenix MSA has dropped to 70th in the nation in terms of car thefts in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/top-places-for-vehicle-thefts |title=Hot Spots 2012 |publisher=NICB |access-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref>

=== Politics ===

Long a swing city, Phoenix has increasingly trended toward the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in recent years, leading a shift seen across Arizona. [[Margaret Hance]] was elected the city's first female mayor in 1975.

{| class="wikitable" style="float:center; margin:1em; font-size:95%;"
|+ '''Phoenix presidential election results'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::4ee8ecf2-14b7-4a8d-99bc-82fa633a9305/| title=Dra 2020 }}</ref>
!Year
![[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
![[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
![[Third party (United States)|Third parties]]
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |[[2020 United States presidential election in Arizona|2020]]
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''59.6%''' ''388,435''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |38.9% ''253,250''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}} |1.6% ''10,238''
|-
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |[[2016 United States presidential election in Arizona|2016]]
| align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}} |'''53.9%''' ''271,946''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}} |38.7% ''195,513''
| align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}} |7.4% ''37,389''
|}