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Escambia’s Crime Up, Highest Overall Rate In Florida
May 17, 2013
Overall crime was up 5.6 percent in Escambia County during 2012 according to new data released Thursday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, while the state’s indexed crime rate declined about 6.5 percent during the same period.
Escambia County’s overall crime rate — 5,656.2 crimes per 100,000 residents — was the highest in the state in 2012, followed by Miami-Dade at 5,129.3 indexed crimes per 100,000 residents.
During the year, the overall crime index was up 5.6 percent. Murders increased 38 percent, from 16 to 22, forcible rapes decreased very slightly from 169 to 162, robberies fell 11 percent, aggravated assaults jumped 23 percent, burglaries were up 23 percent, larcenies were almost unchanged going from 9,908 to 9,920, and motor vehicle thefts were down about 7 percent.
The Escambia County crime numbers include crimes in the jurisdictions of all law enforcement agencies in the county, including the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Pensacola Police Department, University of West Florida Police Department, Pensacola State College Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol.
Of the 22 murders last year in Escambia County, 15 were in the county and seven were in the city of Pensacola. Totaled indexed crimes were up 5.9 percent in the county, 4.4 percent in the city. The crime rate per 1,000 residents was higher in the city at 6,737.5, up 4.2 percent. Escambia County had 5,351.9 crimes per 100,000 people in 2012, up 5.8 percent over 2011.
In 2012, the Pensacola Police Department cleared 40.1 percent of indexed crimes, while the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office cleared 26.3 percent.
Want to know more? Click the graphic below to enlarge and view Escambia County’s crime data as released Thursday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Comments
16 Responses to “Escambia’s Crime Up, Highest Overall Rate In Florida”
This is a sad but true article. I no longer live in Pensacola or Escambia County thankfully. I know from recent experience how bad crime is in the county, as one of my family members was recently a victim of murder there. I remember when I lived there I had no fears of going anywhere at anytime, never even worried about locking doors. And that was a mere 25 years ago. I have recently learned a few things about the judicial system in fl, especially escambia county. Go look on jail view, see how many repeat offenders that are there, and notice how the crimes keep escalating until they finally do something that requires them to stay at least a few months. The person who murdered my family member should not have been on the streets, but he was slapped on the hands and let loose numerous times, he even had a prior gun charge. It is unbelievable. Until the county and the state decide to start really making criminals pay for their crimes nothing is going to change except for the worse. And I hate to say this, I know a lot of people will not agree with me, but jails/prisons should not be the free ride that they are now. There should not no television, limited phones calls and visitation, no commissary for treats or extras, less air conditioning, and inmates should have to work to earn their keep. Maybe if inmates really had to do time they would not be so easily swayed to do more crime upon their release. It is amazing how well we treat inmates, I personally know a lot of people who cannot afford air conditioning and cable television. I do believe that if we as the law abiding citizens of this state work at it we may be able to change the crime rates in this area, we need to write our elected officials and let them know how outraged we are about our present crime rates. But first and foremost we need to come to the realization that we must take a part in the changes that need to be made and take an active part. I just wish that I had realized this sooner…………
well we beat those 22 murders in the first 2 months this year? what about the aggravated robberies? and how many unreported crimes are there?
We have a States Attorney that drops about half of the charges on every case and works a lesser charge deal on the remainder. That is the root of the problem.
Northescambia.com has become a great source for reliable local news. I place it above and beyond any of the other local media outlets. I’ve watched the crime rate rise especially as state budgets have dwindled. An already weak Juvenile Justice System has gotten even worse. Juvenile offenders these days are booked and released back to their parents these days with a court date unless they meet select criteria. The citizens of Escambia County elected someone to be the head law enforcement officer for the county who has no law enforcement experience, and lucky to even know his own agency’s policies. He has surrounded himself with an upper management staff with inflated salaries and a rank structure to go with it that no one understands. There are contract and civilian support positions for everything you can imagine, and salaries to go along with them. Common sense no longer exist as evidenced by the latest “No Chase” policy. Deputies face reprimand for getting into anything close to a vehicle pursuit involving fleeing suspects or suspected offenders. Sorry your car got stolen, broken into, or other crime. Maybe you will be able to get your stuff back if it’s found ditched somewhere. You want to know why crime is up? You have a political figure whose greatest quality is his ability to speak well in front of people. It may not be accurate, but it’s a lot of just what people want to hear. I’m sorry but actions speak louder that words, and the evidence of all this bundled together speaks to the crime rate here. We need a sheriff that isn’t afraid of stepping on toes or being politically correct 24/7. One that will let it be known if you commit a crime in Escambia County Florida, we are coming after you one way or another. Law enforcement in many ways has been reduced to report takers, and it’s not because the great men and women working there want it that way. Common sense in chases people. Sometimes as unfortunate as it is in police chases, innocent people get hurt. This is a result of a crime, not as a result of the police trying to apprehend a criminal. Put the blame where it belongs, and police this county.
These numbers are based on “reported” crimes. I don’t know about you but I’ve heard that some people don’t always tell the truth and some of these people will even lie to the cops. But if the cops can’t prove the crime didn’t happen they have to report it and that lie will count on their stats. Maybe some of these other agency are trying to make themselves look a little better. I’m not saying crime isn’t up, the numbers don’t lie, but sometimes people do.
Sheriff Morgan can not be both a social worker and LEO at the same time. His mind set has always been that of a social worker. Criminals need to be treated as criminals not as victims of an unjust system. Being Mr. Nice Guy does not work with murderers, rapists, robbers, and thugs. Cleaning up their neighborhoods and begging them to be good citizens does not work. Thus, we the law abiding citizens have to deal with his mis-guided mindset that all people are good “all they need is a little TLC and patience”. Some people are just plain mean and he needs to recognize this and possibly re-educate himself on how to enforce the law and not let his personal ideas get in the way of doing his job. His Job is to protect and serve – So far he has not been doing a very good job at that. No one in this county should get “Special Justice” and that is what I have observed since he took office. Please Sheriff Morgan let your dupities do thier jobs.
Don’t blame me, I voted for Ronnie Mac.
Kick Sheriff Morgan out for lying to us about this during his reelection!
Please William,
Now tell us the rates for Santa Rosa County.
Last I heard they were 1/7th of Escambia.
Baldwin County 1/7th also.
Didn’t Sheriff Morgan say CRIME IS DOWN that was his platform to win the last election. So now THE TRUTH comes out. I can only imagine how bad the crime stats will be this year, Deputies cannot chase a criminal for anything, murder, robbery, rape etc., So criminals can run all day long to commit more crimes. Way to protect the citizens Sheriff. I just hope that I’m not a victim of a crime or any of my family and we found out that you wouldn’t let your deputies do there JOB by trying to capture the suspect, just because they were in a car. Yep looks like Morgan pulled a fast one on everybody and WE ALL FEEL FOR IT!!! Time for a change!
We’re number ONE!
We’re number one?
?
?
?
It is true that the crime rate is higher in the city than it is in the county.
I suppose Morgan should get a break for having a rate that is still higher than Miami Dade county and every other county in the state.
This all just makes me question the deterrent effect of the punishment side rather than the enforcement side, but I never miss a chance to pile on.
“”overall this is Sheriff Morgans responsibility. “”"
How is the crime rate in the city Morgan’s responsibility? The city has a higher crime rate than the county, and the city has higher per capita murder rate than the county.
Local judges may be slightly to blame but overall this is Sheriff Morgans responsibility. His internal policies have hamstrung deputies and his bizarre ranking structure has resulted in a severely top heavy agency. His problem isn’t budgetary, it’s his poor leadership and substandard command staff.
The LEOS arrest them and the judges give them a slap on the wrist and off they go again, committing crimes. Or they get time off “for good behavior”, or overcrowding of jail cells allow them to go free.
Escambia County higher than MiamipDade… Wow! Very sad. If you look at the jail’s booking website — you’ll see why. It is many of the same people over and over. Until the judges get serious with sentancing — the “frequent flyers” will continue to be emboldened, and commit even more serious crimes. Me, I’m glad I sold my Escambia County property last year and moved to Santa Rosa County!