TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Governor Rick Scott and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey joined local and state criminal justice officials to release the 2012 Semi-Annual Uniform Crime Report. The report shows Florida’s crime volume dropped 3.8 percent compared to the first six months of 2011.
Governor Rick Scott said, “As a father and grandfather, the safety of Florida families is a top priority for our administration. The great news is we are winning the fight against crime. I am committed to making Florida the safest place in the world to pursue a career and raise a family. That’s why I am proud that Florida’s crime rate dropped 3.8 percent for the first half of 2012. That means Florida communities are getting safer. No doubt, it’s because of the courage of our brave men and women of law enforcement that families can feel safe in our communities. These heroes put themselves in harm’s way every single day, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for making our communities safe.”
Governor Scott said, “Heroes like Detective White, Deputy Pill and Sergeant Thomas made the ultimate sacrifice for our safety, and we should always keep them and their families in our prayers. We know that the service and sacrifice of our officers is what keeps us safe at night.”
FLORIDA STATEWIDE
Statewide, Florida murders (472 in 2011, 479 in 2012) and forcible sex crimes (5,052 in 2011, 5,128 in 2012) each rose by 1.5% . The forcible sodomy crime subcategory experienced the greatest increase of all violent crime subcategories at 13.8% with 650 in 2011 versus 740 in 2012.
According to the report, the number of total violent crimes (murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault) was down by 5.3 percent. The report showed an 8.0 percent drop in robberies and a 5.4 percent decrease in aggravated assault.
Non-violent crime (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) fell 3.6 percent. Burglary and larceny are down 5.8 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. The number of motor vehicle thefts decreased by 1.3 percent. The theft from coin operated machines subcategory experienced the largest decline at -24.3% while pocket picking experienced the largest increase at 22.1%.
BREVARD COUNTY
Overall, Brevard County crime decreased by 6.2%. Murders in Brevard County nearly tripled from 5 in 2011 to 14 in 2012. Forcible rape increased 9% from 91 in 2011 to 100 in 2012. Aggravated assault in Brevard County dropped significantly at -17.5% from 1,359 to 1,123. Robbery also decreased significantly at -23% from 286 in 2011 to 220 in 2012.
Brevard County Motor vehicle theft jumped 24.5% from 323 in 2011 versus 403 in 2012. However, burglary and larceny both declined at -3% and -6%, respectively.