It seems pretty clear that crime is way, way down in Phoenix, defying most experts' expectations, not to mention common immigration talking points. It's still listed in one source as a "dangerous" city, but it's near the bottom of a rather long list. If we are to understand "out of control" to mean that crime is rising, O'Reilly's claim is false.

O'Reilly's description is an opinion that needs a thorough explanation and statistics in order to be completely supported; besides that, it's inflamatory and not clarifying or helpful. I found crime stats from a primary source, the City of Phoenix (see link), and they merely state the number of crimes committed; they offer no basis for comparison to other cities nor do they state that illegal immigration is driving a spike in crime.

The UCR index rate for Phoenix for 2009 is 4,451.8 crimes per 100,000 population, lower than Miami-Dade County Florida, for example.

I'm not sure because it depends which Phoenix we're talking about. See, there is a Phoenix on the Fox News Planet that is totally overrun by illegal Mexicans, all of whom get food stamps, welfare, and have babies for free who go on to get free college educations at the expense of American taxpayers. In that Phoenix, dozens of white Americans are kidnapped daily and their vital essences are sold to aliens whose flying saucers land weekly at Area 51 in Nevada for pickups. On Planet Normal, where I and most Americans live, Phoenix has crime in some neighborhoods and not in others, just like any big American city. It's a hot place, one I've always felt combined Tucson's small-town insularity with Los Angeles's traffic and pollution. And, same as always -- and same as most cities in that part of the country, there are families with names like Lopez that have been in this country (specifically, that part of the country) since long before my assorted ancestors left Germany and Russia. I'm a California native with family ties in and around Tucson. If ALL you damn immigrants went home to Mexico, New York or wherever the hell else you came from, both California and Arizona would be much nicer places to live.

I haven't seen anything that supports his statement. In fact, it all points to the exact opposite conclusion - that crime is dropping. The closest I found was a report of crime rates in 2003, and that placed Phoenix in the top 10 most dangerous cities. I'm willing to look at other links, though. Anyone find anything that supports this?

According to WSJ and FBI reports, violent crime actually plunged in 2009.

It could be true if you consider the legislation and the police....

I suppose it does depend on how you define "control." But the statistics I've heard indicate violent crime has gone down. That doesn't fit most people's definition of "out of control."

You'd have to have an agreed upon definition of "totally" and of "out-of-control." Then context: has everybody turned criminal or are the cops on strike? This being O'Reilly on Arizona in a time of upheaval over illegals . . . But maybe not. Maybe there's a rise in crime in Phoenix and he's just engaging in hyperbole.

Stats for all of Az as well a Phoenix show that violent crime is down.

Any crime associated with immigration is due to the right wing demonizing families who simply want a better life for their children through hard work, leaving them to work with traffickers (many of whom then traffic guns back--- so the problem really is the NRA, not the families who want nothing more than to want to come here as our ancestors did before the law was changed to keep good people out.

The facts just don't add up.

What "control" would that idiot have in mind anyway.

The right wingers are hyping this in an effort to intensify xenophobia in an election year. Like any major city, Phoenix has its fair share of problems, but the crime rate is not spectacularly high; indeed, if you and your neighbors are not associated with narcotics, it's pretty safe. Fear mongering. Pure and simple

Add Bill O'Reilly to the growing list whose statements should be assumed false until independently verified.

Considering the source, it's probably false.

It is false, it is as in any big Metro area, less than other countries. I think Mr. O'Reilly need to retire from TV news, he is not a good influence because he distort things just to have ratings.

I answered False mainly because this is Fox and B.O. is know for his B.S. And while there is no question that crime is a problem in every American city, and Phoenix is perhaps having worse year than usual (which I do not know for fact), the simplistic term "totally out of control" makes me suspect that this is more about sensationalism than journalism.

On almost every category reported on the FBI, uniform crime report, crime is down in Phoenix. Violent crime went from 10465 in 2008 to 8730 in 2009. See http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/prelimsem2009/table_4al-ca.html for the data

Crime in Phoenix (according to Uniform crime statistics) is down in all categories for 2008 and 2009 compared to the previous 10 years. Looking at the latest figures (2009), it would seem violent crime was out of control during 2003-2006 but is now down over 16%. Out of control needs context and I haven't found that context in regards to Phoenix.

As usual, O'Reilly ignores the facts and makes up his own. Notice how many border cities (El Paso, San Diego, San Antonio) are on the SAFEST cities list! There is absolutely no connection made between the undercover drug buy that led to Chandler officer's death and illegal immigrants. Joe Arpaio probably made up the death threat for free publicity.

Every open minded person knows Fox is not interested in reporting the truth or both sides of an issue. Fox is interested in creating news to make liberals look bad and conservative look good. Fox News has shown time and time again that they can not be trusted.

O'Reilly is a notorious prevaricator!

Wehave lived 30 years in Phoenix, crime is no worse than any other large city.

I dought this is true.

There is no evidence to support O'Reilly's assertion. Indeed, crime statistics indicate that crime is dropping in Phoenix. While the phrase "out of control" may be open to interpretation, it's too big a stretch to find any validity in O'Reilly's statement.

O'Reilly probably has a more accurate view of truth than anyone else. How else would he avoid it so adroitly?

Not according to FBI statistics

I have lived in the Phoenix area 4 years with no problems, and nothing but positive interactions with police/officials (knock on wood).

O'Reilly has a history of making things up. The Phoenix police department, the FBI, and the Wall Street Journal are all more credible.

From the Phoenix Business Journal: "Statewide, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said there were 255,133 serious crimes in Arizona in 2009. That is down 12 percent from 2008. DPS reported 341,101 serious crimes in 2002 and 291,380 in 2001." http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2010/05/31/daily26.html

I was in Phoenix, Arizona in early January 2010. The city was beautiful and downtown felt like a safe place. We walked around a night and attended a performance in a downtown park one evening. They have good public transportation from the airport to the downtown and that also seemed safe. Still, I don't plan to go back until they get rid of this outrageous law.

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/sunday-replay-15/