Statewide, crime in 2021 was down to nearly a 50-year low, according to the FDLE’s Annual Uniform Crime Report. The report covers the calendar year of 2021 and shows Florida’s total crime volume dropped 8.3 percent, or 38,524 fewer reported index crimes, compared to 2020.
The summary-based crime stats can be found online at www.fdle.state.fl.us/CJAB/UCR/ Annual-Reports. Data received was combined into a statewide aggregate covering the entire population of Florida and compared to 2020 annual figures to determine statewide trends for 2021. These are the most recent crime figures; 2022 figures will start to be reported next year.
In it, stats show violent and property crimes decreased in 2021. Domestic violence was also down.
Florida incident-based crime statistics will be posted online later this year, FDLE said.
Locally, according to the report:
Despite adding nearly 20,000 to its population from 2020 to 2021 (387,055 to 406,460), the Total Crime Index — a tally of reported serious offenses from vehicle theft on up — were down 6.3%, a decrease of 480 cases to 6,963;
Countywide, reported case numbers of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft stayed about the same, but a 10.8% drop in larceny (theft of property) helped bring the Crime Rate per 100,000 down over 10% to 1,713.1;
The crime index reported by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office dropped 7.6%. And while the index reported by the St. Cloud Police Department was up 2%, the Crime Rate per 100,000 dropped 14.9% to 1,166.6. (To compare, Winter Haven, slightly smaller in population than St. Cloud, had a rate of 1,934.4.)
“Crime reduction efforts at the Sheriff’s Office are a result of collaborative efforts from proactive policing utilizing our newly created Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), many different specialty units, community outreach about crime awareness and prevention, and all the men and woman of the Sheriff’s Office who are committed daily to protect and serve the citizens and visitors of Osceola County,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said in response to the report.
This traditional FDLE report may be going away. The agency reported that not all agencies submitted summary-based crime statistics because they are transitioning to Florida Incident-Based Reporting System (FIBRS) — Kissimmee Police Department reported this way so its crime tallies were not part of the FDLE report.
“Incident-based crime stats will be published quarterly, with the next report published Feb. 28, 2023,” the agency said.
