Florida Murders, Forcible Sex Crimes Rise In 2012
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.
