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State crime rate hits 34-year low

Gov. Bush says longer prison sentences for violent criminals are having a positive effect.

Serious crime in Florida dropped for the 13th straight year in 2004, to the lowest rate in 34 years, Gov. Jeb Bush and state officials announced Thursday.

Bush said laws that increased prison terms for the most violent criminals were working.

The rate of murder, rape, assault, major theft and other serious crimes dropped 6 percent from 2003 to 2004. The actual number of tracked crimes also dropped - despite continued population growth - according to data released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Nonviolent crimes such as burglary and theft decreased 4 percent, while violent crime showed a small decrease, 0.4 percent.

In Pinellas County, the rate of overall crime per 100,000 people fell less than 1 percent. The rate of violent crime fell 1.7 percent, according to the FDLE.

"It's good news any time the crime rate falls," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Doniel. "But now is not the time to let our guard down. The community must remain vigilant."

In Hillsborough County, the overall crime rate fell 12.5 percent, and the violent crime rate decreased 13.2 percent. In Pasco, the overall rate went up slightly, though the rate of violent crime decreased 8.2 percent.

Hernando County saw a 13.7 percent drop in the overall crime rate, including a 14.5 percent decrease in the rate of violent crime. Citrus County experienced a 5.6 percent drop in the overall crime rate and 7.5 percent in the violent crime rate.

"When I moved to Miami in 1980, there was legitimate and serious concern" about crime, Bush said. That's not the case now, he said.

In particular, Bush said the "10-20-Life" bill, which lengthened sentences for people who use guns in crimes, was having a positive effect. Gun crimes have dropped more than 18 percent since 1998. He also pointed to laws that provide harsher sentences for repeat criminals. "If violent, habitual offenders are in prison, they aren't going to be committing crimes," Bush said.

Drug arrests were up nearly 10 percent, going from 136,804 in 2003 to 150,334 last year.

Bush also trumpeted a decline in domestic violence, which dropped 0.8 percent in 2004, he said.

The number of crimes dropped despite a population increase in Florida of 2.6 percent over the year, said Guy Tunnell, the head of the FDLE.

The crime rate in 2004 was 4,855 crimes per 100,000 people. That's the lowest it's been since climbing above 5,000 crimes per 100,000 in 1971. At its worst, the rate topped 8,000 crimes per 100,000 people several years in the 1980s and early '90s.

Besides tougher sentencing laws, police officials also pointed to a shift to community-oriented policing. That involves getting officers into the community to get to know residents and the neighborhood to prevent crime instead of simply responding to it.

Bradford County Sheriff Bob Milner said ultimately the get-tough-on-criminals sentencing laws passed over the last decade have been the biggest factor.

"We see now that they worked and they are still working," Milner said.

Times staff writer Graham Brink contributed to this report.

[Last modified June 24, 2005, 00:45:09]