Violent Crime Down Across South Florida
MIAMI (CBS4) - Much of South Florida followed a national trend last year with a marked drop in violent crime.
According to the FBI's Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report, which cites statistics for cities with 100,000 or more residents, nationally the South led the way with a 7.5 percent decrease in violent crimes. The report, which was released Monday, found violent crime across the country dropped 5.5 percent compared with 2009, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
Among the more notable decreases in our area; violent crime in Ft. Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines fell eight percent, in Hollywood it was down by 14 percent and Coral Springs saw a drop of about 23 percent.
Miami, which saw a 15 percent increase in the number of murders, had a 29 percent drop in rape. Overall, the city posted a 3 percent drop in violent crime.
On the opposite side of the coin, both Hialeah and Miramar reported a 3 percent increase in violent crime.
Miramar police public information officer Tania Rues said their main problem area has been property crime which was up two percent.
"Unfortunately," Rues told the paper, "what we do see when it comes to property crimes is they are crimes of opportunity. People leave their car doors unlocked with valuables in plain sight. We want people who do see something suspicious in their community to call the police.''
While Hollywood ended the year with a six percent increase in property crimes neighboring Pembroke Pines posted a seven percent drop. Coral Springs also posted a decrease of seven percent, but the biggest decrease in property crimes was logged in Miami Gardens where it was down 13 percent from the year before.
Check out the FBI Crime Table for a look at how these cities fared when it came to murder, rape, robbery, assault and more.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
