Study: Florida crime is at a 47-year low

Florida’s crime rate is the lowest it’s been since statewide statistics were first compiled 47 years ago.

In 2017, there were 612,374 crimes, a drop of 4.5 percent. Collectively, over the last seven years, reported crime has dropped by more than a quarter.

Only reported rapes saw an increase, to 7,934 from 7,583, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s annual report.

The crime rate in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties also decreased.

“This marks another year of lower crime rates due to the dedication and expertise of law enforcement across the state,” said Florida Sheriffs Association President and Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson. For 2017, FDLE reported: In Broward County, reported crimes totaled 64,934, down from 66,421.

In Miami-Dade County, reported crimes totaled 107,172, down from 111,219.

In Palm Beach County, reported crimes totaled 45,895, down from 48,613.

Rape

Reported rapes jumped to 7,934 from 7,583, a 4.6 percent increase statewide.

Rapes rose to 579 from 559 in Broward County. Eighty-one rapes were reported in Fort Lauderdale, 61 in Pompano Beach and 47 in Coral Springs.

In Miami-Dade County, 874 rapes were reported, up from 796.

Palm Beach County reported 550 rapes, up from 511 in 2016.

Murder

Statewide, there were 1,057 murders, down from 1,108.

But Broward and Palm Beach counties both saw an uptick.

In Broward, 95 people were murdered in 2017, up from 81 in 2016. Lauderhill had the greatest total number of murders in Broward, with 18. In Fort Lauderdale, there were 15 murders, including the five people killed in the Jan. 6, 2017 mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Palm Beach County had 92 murders in 2017, up from 76 in 2016. Of that number, 25 murders occurred in West Palm Beach and 21 murders were in areas the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office patrols.

In Miami-Dade County, the number of murders dropped slightly last year to 188, down from 198 in 2016.

Robbery

Robberies across the state dropped to 18,583 from 20,132 the year before.

Broward County had 2,522 robberies in 2017, down from 2,715.

Robberies in Miami Dade County also decreased to 4,032 from 4,831.

Palm Beach County saw a decrease in robberies, dropping from 1,753 to 1,674.

Aggravated assault

Aggravated assault in Florida dropped to 29,090 offenses, down from 29,423.

In Broward County, there were more aggravated assaults, up to 4,357 from 4,195.

Miami-Dade County had fewer aggravated assaults, 9,364 in 2017 from 9,810 in 2016.

Palm Beach County experienced a drop to 3,939 from 4,195.

Burglary

There were fewer burglaries across the state, with 2016’s 100,090 burglaries dropping to 88,788 in 2017.

Broward County reported 8,186 burglaries, down from 8,813.

In Miami-Dade County, burglaries dropped to 11,628 from 11,774.

Palm Beach County had the biggest drop in South Florida, to 6,033 from 7,770.

Larceny

Larceny, which includes purse snatching, shoplifting and other types of theft, dropped to 395,149 from 409,379 statewide. Stealing from pockets or coin-operated devices were the only types that saw slight increases in 2017.

Larcenies dropped to 43,250 from 44,436 in Broward County.

Miami-Dade County’s larcenies dropped to 72,384 from 75,242.

Palm Beach County dropped to 30,048 from 30,926.

Car thefts

There was a slight dip in car thefts statewide, but all three South Florida counties showed a slight uptick in the crime.

In Florida, car thefts dropped to 42,889 from 43,044.

Broward County’s car theft totals went up to 5,955 from 5,622.

Car thefts in Miami Dade County jumped to 8,702 from 8,568.

The number of auto thefts in Palm Beach County increased to 3,559 from 3,382.