Just recently, we submitted our crime data to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the first half of 2009. I would like to give you an overview of where we are this year, the factors influencing crime, and what we are doing to keep Boca safe.
After a nearly six percent drop in crime last year, we saw another decrease of about 4 percent for the first six months of 2009, compared to the same time period last year. Nonviolent offenses represented 93% of our crime, violent offenses just 7%.
The rate at which we solve crime is one of the highest in the area and rose again from 25% to 26%. Our clearance rate for robbery was nearly double the national average (25%) at 52%. The following chart represents a synopsis of the data we submitted to the State.
After a nearly six percent drop in crime last year, we saw another decrease of about 4 percent for the first six months of 2009, compared to the same time period last year. Nonviolent offenses represented 93% of our crime, violent offenses just 7%.
The rate at which we solve crime is one of the highest in the area and rose again from 25% to 26%. Our clearance rate for robbery was nearly double the national average (25%) at 52%. The following chart represents a synopsis of the data we submitted to the State.
Factors Influencing Crime
We continue to have a very low crime rate, but I think it is useful to look at the factors that influence the crime we do experience. Economic conditions and shifting demographics have clearly affected the number of violent crimes.
The fiscal crisis is obviously causing stress in relationships. Our domestic violence cases went up close to 50%.
People are renting out their homes in order to make mortgage payments, which is bringing in a different, much younger population. Juvenile arrests have increased by about 20%.
Outside forces continue to exert significant influence on us. 62% of the people we arrest for major crimes do not live in our City.
Our Response
So what are we doing to maintain a safe community? We will continue to be aggressive on crime. Our arrests through July are up 12%.
At the time of this writing, we have only one more officer position to fill. We continue to build our unmarked Tactical Unit, the officers who focus their efforts in hotspots throughout the city. We will also be expanding our Special Investigations Unit, an advanced team of investigators targeting offenders throughout South Florida. We are not going to wait for them to come to us.
We plan to improve our public safety communication and information management systems. We are looking to upgrade an aging radio network, a significant project over the next few years. I alluded to the fact that 60-70% of our arrestees do not live in our City. We will also add cameras to our communication systems to function as an effective deterrent and provide much needed intelligence on those offenders who move in and out of our City. Our goal is to make Boca Raton a less attractive destination for criminals.
Communication and Community Involvement
As you can see above, we are fortunate in that the biggest issue continues to be property crime and 76% of that property crime is larceny. These offenses could be easily prevented through education, awareness and simple prevention measures.
Over the past two years we have been working hard on developing an effective way to engage the community and encourage responsible crime prevention behaviors. We continue to build our VIPER program which has become a model for law enforcement branding and communication. The VIPER website (http://www.bocaviper.com/) has grown to include a number of different tools for citizens. We can now connect more effectively through crime alerts, offender notifications, interactive mapping, a newsletter, video programming, Nixle, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. We have and will continue to relentlessly pursue a better way to engage our residents.
The quality of life in Boca Raton continues to be unrivaled in this area. Keeping it that way will require us to be connected, informed, alert and involved.
We continue to have a very low crime rate, but I think it is useful to look at the factors that influence the crime we do experience. Economic conditions and shifting demographics have clearly affected the number of violent crimes.
The fiscal crisis is obviously causing stress in relationships. Our domestic violence cases went up close to 50%.
People are renting out their homes in order to make mortgage payments, which is bringing in a different, much younger population. Juvenile arrests have increased by about 20%.
Outside forces continue to exert significant influence on us. 62% of the people we arrest for major crimes do not live in our City.
Our Response
So what are we doing to maintain a safe community? We will continue to be aggressive on crime. Our arrests through July are up 12%.
At the time of this writing, we have only one more officer position to fill. We continue to build our unmarked Tactical Unit, the officers who focus their efforts in hotspots throughout the city. We will also be expanding our Special Investigations Unit, an advanced team of investigators targeting offenders throughout South Florida. We are not going to wait for them to come to us.
We plan to improve our public safety communication and information management systems. We are looking to upgrade an aging radio network, a significant project over the next few years. I alluded to the fact that 60-70% of our arrestees do not live in our City. We will also add cameras to our communication systems to function as an effective deterrent and provide much needed intelligence on those offenders who move in and out of our City. Our goal is to make Boca Raton a less attractive destination for criminals.
Communication and Community Involvement
As you can see above, we are fortunate in that the biggest issue continues to be property crime and 76% of that property crime is larceny. These offenses could be easily prevented through education, awareness and simple prevention measures.
Over the past two years we have been working hard on developing an effective way to engage the community and encourage responsible crime prevention behaviors. We continue to build our VIPER program which has become a model for law enforcement branding and communication. The VIPER website (http://www.bocaviper.com/) has grown to include a number of different tools for citizens. We can now connect more effectively through crime alerts, offender notifications, interactive mapping, a newsletter, video programming, Nixle, Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. We have and will continue to relentlessly pursue a better way to engage our residents.
The quality of life in Boca Raton continues to be unrivaled in this area. Keeping it that way will require us to be connected, informed, alert and involved.
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