FDLE Crime Report: Several local counties see jump in violent crime

June 7, 2016

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- We're getting a closer look the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's annual state crime report.

FDLE's report shows a dip in Florida's overall crime rate, down 3.1 percent and at its lowest level in 45 years.

But several local counties reported significant spikes in violent crime. Leon County reported a nearly 15 spike between 2014 and 2015. Madison County saw a 36 percent jump, and Taylor County saw a 63 percent increase.

To view highlights from the report, see attached document, "2015 Annual Uniform Crime Report."

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to view an interactive map with county-by-county crime information.

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to see an agency breakdown by county.

June 4, 2016

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's overall crime rate is the lowest it's been since the state began keeping data 45 years ago.

That's the good news from statistics released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Friday. The bad news is that violent crimes like murder and rape increased in 2015 over the previous year.

There were 1,040 murders in Florida last year, up from 984 the year before. That includes 767 murders involving guns, an increase of 11.2 percent.

There were 7,537 reported rapes in Florida, an increase of 6.1 percent over 2014.

Still, Gov. Rick Scott proclaimed the state to be safer based on the overall number of crimes dropping 1.6 percent.

The crimes that went down last year include robberies, burglaries and larceny.