TAMPA - Violent crime in Tampa dropped 8.8 percent from 2002 to 2003, even as the number of murders rose slightly, according to statistics released Monday by the Tampa Police Department.
"I'm very proud," Tampa police Chief Stephen Hogue said of the overall decrease. "It's a combination of efforts. It's the high visibility of police officers, working in conjunction with detectives. It is also a function of the courts putting (offenders) in jail."
Robberies dropped 24 percent during the year - the largest percentage drop among crimes that the department tracked. The department has particularly targeted robberies, Hogue said.
Aggravated assaults decreased - but only by half a percent.
The city had 41 murders in 2003, up from 37 a year earlier, a 10.8 percent increase.
The number of sexual batteries rose, from 257 to 283, a 9.7 percent increase.
Meanwhile, nonviolent crime in the city decreased during 2003. Most of the drop can be attributed to a steep decline in vehicle theft, which was down 20.5 percent from 2002, according to police.
Statistics show that vehicle theft hit its lowest rate in years, though 5,344 cases were reported in 2003, down from 6,720 a year earlier.
The decrease offset increases in burglaries and larcenies.
Hogue didn't have any studies to prove the point, but he felt that Florida's 10-20-Life law might have had an effect. The 10-20-Life law requires a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for anyone who shoots someone and causes serious injury or death.
Hogue said he hasn't seen statewide statistics yet to compare Tampa with other large cities, but he warned about drawing conclusions from the numbers.
"These things are just like anything else," he said. "They don't tell the whole story."
- Times staff writer David Karp contributed to this report.
