FDLE report: number of violent crimes down
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement today released the 2008 Annual Uniform Crime Report. The report shows a drop in the number of violent crimes committed in Florida last year. The state’s overall index crime rate remains at low levels – down approximately 31 percent since 1998.
The report indicates an increase of 0.1 percent in the index crime rate (and a 0.8 percent increase in the volume of index crime) in 2008 when compared to the rate for 2007. Index crimes include murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. Florida’s population increased by 0.7 percent, or about 126,800 new residents from 2007 to 2008.
The 2008 report shows that the number of violent crimes decreased by 4.3 percent. When compared to 1998, this is a 9.7 percent drop in total violent crimes. Violent crimes include murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault. Additionally, domestic violence incidents dropped by 1.8 percent when compared to the previous year. Non-violent crime (burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft) increased 1.7 percent.
The 2008 Annual Uniform Crime Report includes crimes reported during 2008 and data submitted by 407 of the 413 local, county and state law enforcement agencies. These agencies serve approximately 99.9 percent of the state’s population. The complete report, including county-by-county breakdowns, can be found on FDLE’s Web site: www.fdle.state.fl.us/fsac/ucr/.