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Crime rates in Florida lowest in four decades

FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey presents the annual crime report
WFSU
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey presents the annual crime report

Florida’s overall crime rate has hit a 41-year low. Regan McCarthy reports the state’s total number of crimes for 2011 is down by a tenth of a percent, and the number of violent crimes is down 3.7-percent.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey says Floridians are safer now than “any time in the last four  decades.” Bailey says the decrease is thanks to the state’s law enforcement officers, but he says that safety has come at a cost.

“2011 proved to be a bad year, with 7 law enforcement officers and one correctional officer killed, due to criminal acts, and 3 law enforcement officers killed accidentally, but in the line of duty.”

And Bailey points out that two law enforcement officers and one corrections officer have already been killed this year. Non violent crimes, like burglary, larceny and vehicle theft, increased by about a quarter of a percent.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgzAfoPnakI&list=UUh08QyWi_SD4AvfoQQXmodw&index=1&feature=plcp

 

The complete 2011 Annual Uniform Crime Report, including county-by-county breakdowns, can be found on FDLE’s website.

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media. Before coming to Tallahassee, Regan graduated with honors from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. She worked for several years for NPR member station WFIU in Bloomington, Ind., where she covered local and state government and produced feature and community stories.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

Find complete bio, contact info, and more stories here.