 |
Bay News 9
Local Programming
On Demand
About
Community
Market Place
Services
Crime rate up slightly in Florida
The FDLE released its crime numbers on Friday.
The overall crime rate - factoring in population growth - was up 1.4 percent in 2007, over where it was in 2006, according to data released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. But for crimes in which guns were used, the numbers were much larger.
Murders involving guns went up 11.5 percent last year and armed robberies with guns increased by 25 percent, from about 14,300 in 2006 to just under 18,000 last year. Aggravated assaults with firearms also went up, by 8.6 percent.
Even with the slight increase, overall crime in Florida last year was still far below where it was in the 1980s and 1990s. The crime rate last year was 35 percent lower than it was a decade ago.
While it was the first year in more than a decade that the overall crime rate has gone up, violent crimes have been creeping up in Florida for a couple years. In 2007, violent crime increased by just under 2 percent, following a 3 percent increase the year before.
"Making our neighborhoods and communities safe for Floridians and their families is the first priority of government," Gov. Charlie Crist said. "Our state is committed to putting in place tools and technologies that both prevent and deter criminal activity."
Among the statistics released by the FDLE Friday were:
- Overall murders were up 6.5 percent.
- While gun murders increased by 11.5 percent, murders in which a knife was used dropped by 24 percent.
- Overall robberies went up 11.7 percent.
- Overall, aggravated assaults were down 1.7 percent.
- With population growth factored in, the crime rate went up 1.4 percent.
More State Stories
- Suit filed to stop tax swap amendment
- The politics of Powerball
- Florida Supreme court nixes Indian casino pact
- Judge: Snipes can travel abroad for movies
- Florida to add Powerball to lottery options
- Law sends twice-convicted molesters to prison for life
- Crist releases financial information to the public
- Deputies: Man abducted estranged wife at gunpoint
- FPS adjusting utility company charges
Get the latest news, weather, and traffic on your computer desktop, your cell phone or via e-mail with Bay News 9's free alert service, Bay News 9 Now.
Select the size text you want to use to view www.baynews9.com from the choices below.
Bay News 9's Partners
 |  |  |  |
Become An Asterisk Hunter!
At Bright House Networks, we prefer to keep things simple.So the next time you're looking for TV, home phone and Internet service with a 30-day, money-back guarantee, but without the fine print surprises, call
1-866-976-EASY.
Learn more at AsteriskHunters.com.
