Crime in the Keys has gone down, while number of cleared cases has gone up, sheriff says
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday that overall crime in the Florida Keys declined significantly in 2019.
At the same time, the number of cases deputies and detectives cleared increased.
“Put another way,” sheriff’s office spokesman Adam LInhardt said, “the instances of reported crime have never been lower, while our ability to solve crime has never been higher.”
While the Keys are relatively safe, crimes like theft, burglaries, fraud, drug dealing and smuggling keep sheriff deputies, state marine and highway patrol officers, city of Key West police and various federal agencies busy.
But rape and murder, while they do occur, are rare. And, those have declined in recent years, according to the sheriff’s office crime statistics released this week.
In 2019 and 2018, there were two murders each year in the island chain. Contrast that with 2017, when cops in the archipelago handled seven homicides, Linhardt said.
“Crimes like murder, rape and robbery occur in extremely low numbers in Monroe County, so a difference of just a few crimes can make a big difference in the percentage of increase and decrease from year to year,” he said.
In total, the crime rate dropped almost 14 percent from 2018 to 2019. Burglaries fell from 110 in 2018 to 86 the next year, according to the sheriff’s office. Larceny crimes, which include theft, shoplifting, car break-ins and stolen bicycles, fell from 689 to 557.
The data released by the sheriff’s office excludes crime in the city of Key West. Information for the Southernmost City was not immediately available Monday. Alyson Crean, spokeswoman for the city and the police department, said numbers should be finalized and released later this week.
Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement that he was pleased with the decrease in crime and the cases his deputies cleared.
“The hard work and community policing pays off,” he said.
The clearance rate for crimes in 2019 was 43 percent, up from 38.3 percent in 2018, Linhardt said. The average for the state is 25.3 percent, he said.
“The solve rate on crimes has improved steadily over the years,” Linhardt said. “In 2012, the clearance rate stood at 24.2 percent. It has improved each subsequent year.”
Linhardt noted that clearance of a crime is not always the same thing as the case being solved or an arrest having been made. The clearance rate also includes cases “cleared by exception. The term refers to cases where a suspect has been identified, but “there is something beyond the agency’s control that keeps the offender from being arrested,” he said.
“An example would be that the offender is dead, extradition from another agency is denied, or the case involves a juvenile offender who cannot be charged for some reason,” Linhardt said.
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
