City Manager's Annual Report Annual Report 2018 | A Year In Review | Page 14

P
O
R
T
FLORIDA’S SAFEST
LARGE CITY
CRIME DROPS DESPITE POPULATION GROWTH
A mong all Florida cities with a population of more than 100,000, Port St. Lucie
experienced the lowest number of crimes in 2017, according to the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement’s 2017 Uniform Crime Report. The City’s crimes
dropped by 15.5 percent in 2017, even with an increase in population of 1.8
percent.
And the numbers revealed an interesting and unusual trend: While the City’s
population is growing, its crime is dropping.
One of Port St. Lucie’s top strategic priorities is to remain the safest large City
in the state, and data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2018
confirms the City achieved this important goal for the eighth year in a row.
“Port St. Lucie continues to have the lowest crime rate for any city in the state of
Florida with a population over 100,000 for 13 out of the past 15 years,” Port St.
Lucie Police Chief John Bolduc said. “I am pleased to report the City of Port St.
Lucie has experienced a significant reduction in the crime rate.”
The crime rate is the number of crimes adjusted for population. With a 5 percent
and a 1 percent reduction in the previous two years, crime has been reduced by
a total of 21.5 percent during the last three years in the City of Port St. Lucie.
Additionally, in 2017, total index crimes -- which are the eight crimes the FBI
combines to produce its annual crime index – was the lowest it has been in Port
St. Lucie since 1999. There were 2,312 index crimes reported to the police
in 2017, with a city population of 189,344. There were 2,422 index crimes in
2000, when the population was just 88,769. Typically, crime increases with the
population. However, Port St. Lucie has more than doubled in population, but the
level of crime in the City has remained the same or has been reduced.
Chief Bolduc attributes these significant accomplishments to the close working
relationship and cooperation between the police and the residents of the City
of Port St. Lucie, the use of evidence-based crime reduction strategies and the
relentless follow-up on reported crimes.
Other Police Department highlights for 2018 include initiatives to partner with St.
Lucie Public Schools to reduce truancy and a successful accreditation review
from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., which
is considered the gold standard for law enforcement accreditations.
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CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE 2018 ANNUAL REPORT