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Violent crime rises in South Florida
Police agencies in almost every large South Florida city handled more violent crime last year than in 2006, bucking a national lower-crime trend.
Posted on Tue, Jun. 10,

BY EVAN S. BENN AND ROB BARRY
ebenn@MiamiHerald.com

More people were killed, raped or robbed in South Florida's big cities last year than the year before.

Although violent crime decreased 1.4 percent nationwide -- a positive sign after two years of rising violence -- it rose in almost every South Florida city with more than 100,000 residents, according to data the FBI released Monday.

Police departments in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Hialeah, Hollywood and Miramar all handled more homicides, and most also responded to more rapes and robberies last year than in 2006. In Pompano Beach, the number of homicides -- 10 -- remained unchanged, but the city experienced more rapes and robberies.

Acts of violent crime in Miami increased to 6,120 from 5,931, but the uptick kept in line with population growth.

The number of rapes was down significantly in 2007 -- 57 compared to 101 the year before -- but Miami had 426 more robberies and two more homicides than it did in 2006. The city's homicide rate remained the highest in the state, with 19.3 killings per 100,000 people.

Fort Lauderdale saw decreases in rapes and robberies; overall incidents of violent crime dropped to 1,523 from 1,683. Homicides in the city rose to 25 from 21.

WORKING STRATEGY

Sgt. Frank Sousa attributed the downward crime trends in Fort Lauderdale to specialized policing teams and patrol officers.

''We have a number of action plans in effect to reduce crime, but I think the bottom line is the everyday officers whose rubber hits the road,'' Sousa said. ``They're out there making contact with the community, working with homeowners groups, doing the little things that add up.''

Sousa said he believed the department's 2008 numbers would continue to show progress. ''We're bucking the trend,'' he said. ``Everybody is seeing crime increase, but we're seeing it decrease. We're the largest municipality in Broward, so we're fortunate to have done as well as we did.''

Hollywood residents experienced a rise in every category of violent crime and property crime, like car thefts and burglaries. Its increase in homicides was more severe than any other South Florida city, from eight to 13.

Lt. Manny Marino said the department noticed a crime spike in the last few months of 2007.

In response, the chief added a third crime-suppression team to work undercover operations, and plans are in the works to deploy a fourth. ''The emphasis is to put more officers on the streets,'' Marino said. ``They're hitting street-level things like prostitution and narcotics that often lead to more serious incidents.''

So far, Marino said, the results have been positive and he expects the city's 2008 crime stats to show a decrease in violence.

''We're already seeing an effect,'' he said.

Elsewhere in Florida:

• The homicide rate climbed in 10 of the 17 cities with a population of more than 100,000.

• Crime in North Florida crept upward, with Gainesville, Jacksonville and Tallahassee all reporting an increase in violent crime.

• Orlando is the most violent city in Florida, with nearly two violent crimes for every 100 people.

DATA GATHERING

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's preliminary Uniform Crime Report is based on information gathered from 12,032 law enforcement agencies that submitted six to 12 comparable months of data for both 2006 and 2007. The bureau said the number of violent crimes declined by 1.4 percent, and property crimes were down 2.1 percent, from 2006.

The largest overall declines were in vehicle theft, down 8.9 percent, and in rape, down 4.3 percent, and homicide, down 2.7 percent.

The crime trends were not uniform. Violent crimes dropped most in the Northeast, down 5.4 percent, but they rose 0.7 percent in the South.

ATV Florida Forum

General => Open Discussion => Topic started by: JackL on June 10, 2008, 11:50:18 PM