Crime Rate Drops in Palm Beach County

Our criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert are pleased to share with you that, according to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, the crime rate in Palm Beach County extended a recent trend by dropping significantly last year, based on data collected from 2013.

Perhaps the most significant change is evident in comparing the total number of reported violent and nonviolent crimes in the county in 2003 with the same measurement from 2013: in ten years, that number plummeted from 72,678 to 49,372, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Thanks, in part, to Palm Beach County’s declining rate of crime, Florida now has the lowest crime rate it’s had in 43 years.

Governor Rick Scott pointed out that even though the population of the Sunshine State has risen in recent years, the number of reported crimes has still gone down. One of the towns in the county that’s seen the most significant drop in reported criminal activity has been Boca Raton, which has watched its crime rate go down by a whopping 25% over the past five years.

In compiling the report used in determining the crime rate, the state includes data on the types of crimes that affect Floridians the most, such as vehicle theft, burglary and larceny; also included are murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Out of all of these categories, the only crime to go up over the past year was vehicle theft, of which there were 2,740 in 2013, 100 more than there were in 2012. On the whole, though, crime, including and especially violent crime in Palm Beach County, is down significantly.

Delray Beach, however, continues to be an enigma to law enforcement officials trying to figure out criminal landscape of Florida. According to the data, Delray saw higher incidents of rape, aggravated assault, burglary and larceny, contributing to an increase of 5% in the Delray crime rate for 2013.

The Sun Sentinel article cited above notes that Delray has a smaller population than does Boca Raton or Boynton Beach, but “it has more sex offenders, a large homeless population, fewer patrol officers” and a significant (and growing) number of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers.

Our experienced criminal defense lawyers expect that the results of this report will lead to increased police presence in Delray Beach and thus more arrests. It is important to remember that just because someone is arrested does not indicate that they are guilty of anything. As Americans and Floridians, we have rights that deserve to be protected. If you have been arrested or charged with a crime, call our dedicated criminal defense attorneys to schedule a free consultation. You can reach us by calling 1-888-5-DEFEND (1-888-533-3363).