Local Crime Rate Among Highest In State

Third and Fifth Highest Crime Increases Among Florida Counties

LABELLE, FLORIDA (July 11, 2006) -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its latest crime statistics for the year ending 2005 today, and the official statistics showed a large rate increase in reported crimes in Hendry and Glades county, while the state's crime rate fell again for the 14th straight year.

Hendry county came in with the third highest crime rate increase in Florida, at 15.2% over last year, while Glades county was fifth highest with an increase of 13.5%. The other top highest county crime rate increases statewide included  Desoto 27%, Baker 22.4%, Washington 15.3%,  and Jefferson 14.8%. The state's crime rate, averaging all counties,  fell by 3.7% over 2004's numbers

Last year, Hendry county with a population of 38,376 showed three murders, 31 forcible sex offenses, 78 robberies, 230 aggravated assaults, 460 burglaries, 903 larcenies, and 114 vehicle thefts. In Glades county, population 10,729, there was 1 murder, 1 forcible sex offense, 11 robberies, 31 aggravated assaults, 93 burglaries, 147 larcenies, and 28 vehicle thefts.  The crime  in Glades affected 2.9 per 100 people, while Hendry crime hit 4.7 residents per hundred. The actual Hendry-Glades crime rate is substantially lower than large metropolitan area like Miami-Dade where crime affected 6.2 persons per hundred residents, although Broward county is lower than Hendry at  4.3 per hundred. The state average is  4.6 per hundred. Miami-Dade's crime rate did however go down by 7.5% over 2004's rate.

In the previous year, the 2004 crime report showedHendry crime decreased 2.2% from 2003, and Glades county crime decreased 5.2% from 2003.

The rate of violent crime in Florida decreased by 0.6  percent, while non-violent showed a 4.2 percent  decrease for the same period. The number of violent crimes (murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault) rose 1.7 percent in 2005, while the number of non-violent crimes (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) decreased by 2.0 percent.