Santa Rosa County crime rate drops 3.1 percent

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Staff reports

Governor Rick Scott today announced that Florida’s crime rate is now at a 47-year low. The 2017 Annual Crime Report data also shows a 3.1 percent drop in Santa Rosa County’s crime rates. 

 “I’m very proud that although our population increase,  crime decrease due to the hard work of all our deputy sheriffs that we have on the road,” said Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson, who praised Santa Rosa County Commissioners for providing funding for a 10-percent raise for his officers and money to add more deputies to the force.

According to Johnson, Santa Rosa last year also cleared more than half its reported cases, which is more than double the state’s roughly 22 percent average clearance rate.

Overall, the state crime rate has dropped six percent since 2016, and since Gov. Scott took office, the crime rate has dropped 27 percent. In 2017, there were 28,640 fewer crimes than in 2016, which is a 4.5 percent decrease. This year, Governor Scott was proud to invest more than $5.2 billion in public safety in the Securing Florida’s Future budget.

Governor Scott said, “We continue to make investments each year to keep our communities safe, and these investments are working. Today, I’m proud to announce that crime is at a 47-year low in our state. Our state’s continuously decreasing crime rate is a reminder of the dedication and hard work of Florida’s law enforcement officers. We must continue to support and thank them every day for their commitment to keeping Florida families safe.”

View the 2017 Annual Uniform Crime Report  http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/UCR-Reports