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Crime down overall in Bradford County
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
April 23, 2009 |
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In spite of a larger number of assaults and burglaries reported, the crime rate was down slightly in Bradford County in 2008 when compared to the year before.
The number of index crimes reported in 2008 was 768, down 4.4 percent from 803 in 2007. That still wasn't as low as 2006, when the number of index crimes reported was 622.
Index crimes were down in Union County as well, although the numbers there are much lower than those reported in Bradford-229 crimes in 2007 and 188 in 2008. That's a drop of nearly 18 percent.
Meanwhile, then number of crimes reported in Clay County rose from 5,532 crimes in 2007 to 6,065 in 2008, an increase of nearly 10 percent.
Index crimes are a list of crimes tracked because of their seriousness and frequency. Reported incidents of these crimes are used to determine an area's crime rate.
The crimes tracked in the Uniform Crime Report for 2008 released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement last week were murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
The most frequent crimes reported in the tri-county area-burglary, larceny and assault-involve theft and violence.
Crime rate is measured as the number of index crimes occurring per 100,000 residents. That makes the Bradford County crime rate crimes 2,643 (or .0264 per single resident) for 2008, compared to 2,764 in 2007-not much difference.
In Union County the crime rate fell from 1,457 to 1,177. In Clay County, the crime rate rose from 2,996 to 3,275.
Broken down by crime, Bradford County had one murder in 2008 (still unsolved, although the state may seek an indictment from a grand jury next month), seven rapes, seven robberies, 137 aggravated assaults, 222 burglaries and 336 larcenies.
A single murder from 2007 also remains unsolved. One less rape was reported than 2007, and there were fewer robberies and larcenies. Assaults and burglaries were up, however.
The clearance rate, or the number of crimes solved, in Bradford County increased from 42 percent to almost 48 percent. This is higher than Clay County, but lower than Union, which reported a 73 percent clearance rate in 2008.
The clearance rate for the Starke Police Department recovered after dropping last year. In 2006, the clearance rate was 80.4 percent, in 2007 it was 56.6 percent, and in 2008 it was 74.8 percent.
However, since the total number of crimes reported in the city dropped significantly, the police department saw an 18 percent jump in the clearance rate while actually solving seven fewer crimes.
The clearance rate for crimes reported to the Bradford County Sheriff's Office was in the low 30 percent range again in 2008-34.3 percent to be exact. Although there was a slight bump in the clearance rate, that equated to 28 fewer crimes given the total number of crimes reported.
More crimes were reported from the unincorporated areas of the county than in the municipalities. In 2007, 450 were reported. In 2008, it was 522. With the exception of rape and robbery, there were a higher number of other index crimes reported to the sheriff's office. Burglary is a particular problem, with nearly 200 reported. Larcenies followed at 163.
Vehicles appear to be less safe from theft in the county. Forty-four were reported stolen last year. The number of assaults was also up, from 75 in 2007 to 105 in 2008.
Fewer crimes were reported in every crime index category in the city of Starke, with the total number falling from 316 to 230. The biggest dive was in the number of larcenies, which fell from 233 to 168. There were fewer burglaries, robberies and auto thefts, too.
Twenty-seven aggravated assaults were reported last year, down from 36 a year before.
The report compiles the statistics from 2008. Since then, a new sheriff has been elected, and there is also a new chief with the city of Starke.
While hesitant to comment on a previous administration's record at the sheriff's office, public spokesperson Capt. Brad Smith said Sheriff Gordon Smith is proud of his record at the police department and plans to continue that work in his current position.
"The sheriff committed himself and this organization to lowering the crime rate in the county, and he's committed to that still," Capt. Smith said.
Smith said the sheriff is focused on high-crime areas of the county, particularly areas heavily involved in drug trafficking.
"He's already developed a cooperative effort with the other law enforcement agencies within the community, and we're going into those areas we've identified as high drug activity areas with special operations to try and get the drug dealers off the streets as well as the people that are buying the drugs," Capt. Smith said.
They hope that by tackling drugs, they will also be tackling related crimes, including property theft and assault.
To protect themselves, Capt. Smith encouraged people to lock the doors of their vehicles and their homes.
"Small communities have always been able to pride themselves on leaving their doors unlocked, but in today's climate, more specifically the economic downturn, securing those things is more important because there's people out there trying to steal from one another," he said.
Starke Police Chief Jeff Johnson agreed that a weakened economy can drive crime up.
"Times are tough and some people are not willing to back off on their spending, and if they have to steal to continue that, they're going to do it," Johnson said.
Johnson reinforced the message of self-protection, saying valuables should be kept out of sight and locked up. He said educating the public about such things in an important part of fighting crime.
Another important component is community policing. The county is a large area and can be difficult to police. Capt. Smith said when citizens come together as a community and report crimes and suspicious activities they witness in their neighborhoods, it is very helpful and appreciated.
"At the very least we can check it out," Capt. Smith said. "It's better to be safe than sorry."
Johnson said that he's proud of the way the citizens of Starke look out for each other and participate in fighting crime.
The Hampton and Lawtey Police Department's each reported eight index crimes in 2008, down in both cases from last year. Hampton reported two burglaries, five larcenies and one vehicle theft. Lawtey reported one robbery, five aggravated assaults and two burglaries.
There was a 100 percent clearance rate on those crimes by both departments.
There were nearly 2,000 arrests in the county in 2008. They break down as follows:
CRIME # OF ARRESTS
Murder 0
Sex Offenses 4
Robbery 2
Agg. Assault 66
Burglary 36
Larceny 141
Auto Theft 18
Manslaughter 0
Kidnap/Abduction 1
Arson 0
Simple Assault 164
Drug Arrests 168
Bribery 0
Embezzlement 1
Fraud 12
Counterfeit/Forgery 12
Extortion/Blackmail 0
Intimidation 1
Statewide, the Uniform Crime 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 number one priority of government is to make our neighborhoods safe and secure for Floridians," said Gov. Charlie Crist in a statement released to the press. "Our state is committed to implementing the necessary tools and resources to deter criminal activity and protect the people."
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2010
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