I live near Anthem. There has been one murder in my apartment complex in the last year. The nice houses to the east had a auto thief shoot at a guy who heard the comotion who stuck his head out the window. Down by scottsdale road mexicans dragged two elderly people into a wash after they robbed them and killed them. Baseline killer, serial shooters, rapeist( I think the last was in Tempe). Transients live all around as you can tell by the suitcases I find when I walk thru the field near me as well as sleep behind the grocery store in the bushes.
Phoenix is not a safe place to live. If I lived in a gated community I would think it would be ok. I think the Police are over whelmed with the amount of crime here. We are becoming more like mexico and their standard of living everyday. Life means little.
Coming from the mid west the crime was generally focused in the poor part of cities. Out here it is just as likely to be anywhere. Like I said gated community and you'd probably be fine.