Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Florida’s crime rate dropped in 2021 compared with 2020, a trend reflected at the local level.
The latest Annual Uniform Crime Report (AUCR) from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), released on Nov. 30, shows that the crime rate dropped 8.3 percent statewide in 2021 compared with 2020, reaching a 50-year low.
The 8.3 percent translates into 38,524 fewer reported index crimes in 2021 than in 2020. The index crimes, which number seven, are divided into violent and property offenses. The seven are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
The FDLE reports that both violent and property crimes decreased in 2021, as did domestic violence.
Statewide, Florida had a total of 427,524 index crimes in 2021, versus 466,048 in 2020. The 427,524 crimes break down into 80,823 violent offenses (-3.0 percent) and 346,701 property offenses
(-9.4 percent).
At the same time, the state overall made 543,138 arrests in 2021, compared with 508,490 in 2020, representing a 6.8 percent increase.
Jefferson County’s 2021 numbers reflect the downward trend. The community, including Monticello, registered a 27.3 percent drop in the index crime rate, or 91 fewer crimes in 2021 than in 2020. The data shows a total of 255 index crimes reported locally in 2021, compared with 346 in 2020.
A breakdown of the 255 total crimes shows two murders, four rapes, two robberies, 70 aggravated assaults, 51 burglaries, 113 larcenies and 13 motor vehicle thefts.
The comparable figures for 2020 were zero murder, six rapes, zero robbery, 106 aggravated assaults, 71 burglaries, 145 larcenies and 18 motor vehicle thefts.
Overall, the clearance rate, or crimes solved, was 47.1 percent in 2021, an improvement over the 45.7 percent in 2020.
A further breakdown of the 255 crimes shows that 171 of them occurred in the county, 71 in the city and 13 within the jurisdiction of the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).
The 171 crimes in the county break down into two murders, four rapes, 52 aggravated assaults, 40 burglaries, 66 larcenies and seven motor vehicle thefts, representing a 25.4 percent rate drop from the previous year. The clearance rate for the JCSO was 43.3 percent per 100 offenses.
The 71 crimes in the city break down into 13 aggravated assaults, 11 burglaries, 44 larcenies and three motor vehicle thefts, representing a 38.4 percent rate drop from the previous year. The clearance rate for the MPD was 46.5 percent per 100 offenses.
The 13 crimes handled by the FHP break down into two robberies, five aggravated assaults, three larcenies and three motor vehicle thefts, representing a 30 percent index change from the previous year. The clearance rate for the FHP was 100 percent.
In terms of local arrests, the several law enforcement agencies are credited with a total of 410 arrests in 2021. These arrests break down into 254 by the JCSO, 48 by the MPD, 85 by the FHP, 21 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and one each by two other state agencies.
The FDLE notes that 239 law-enforcement agencies across the state submitted summary-based crime stats for 2021, covering 57.5 percent of the population. Not all agencies, however, submitted summary-based crime statistics, as about 140 are of them are in the process of transitioning to the Florida Incident-Based Reporting System (FIBRS), which is to replace the summary-based crime stats.
Incident-based crime statistics, according to the FDLE, provide more robust and dynamic crime reporting.
“FIBRS collects 56 more offense categories than summary-based reporting, including more detailed victim, offender, arrestee and property data on each crime occurrence,” the FDLE states.
The expanded information, the FDLE says, will help law enforcement agencies target their resources more effectively. It will also, says the state agency, help government agencies better formulate policies. Incident-based crime stats will be published quarterly, with the next report to be released in February 2023.
The FDLE began tracking crime statistics in Florida in 1971. The crime stats can be found at www.fdle.state.fl.us/CJAB/UCR/Annual-Reports.