Florida's Crime Rate In 2018 Dropped By 9% From Previous Year

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Crime rates in Florida have gone down, though the statistic is somewhat misleading.

Florida's overall crime rate last year dropped by 9% from the previous year, although murders and rapes increased.

The most serious crimes — including robbery and aggravated assault — decreased by 7.4 % from the previous year, according to the 2018 Annual Uniform Crime Report ,  which was released Monday.

The report showed 45,154 fewer reported offenses in 2018 compared to 2017.

Murder offenses rose by 50 homicides, a 4.7 percent increase, but that includes the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre on Valentine's Day in 2018.

Rape offenses also saw a 6.3% increase.

The report shows that nearly $1.3 billion of property value was stolen. Around $420 million was recovered.

The report is published by the FBI. In Florida, 393 law enforcement agencies contributed data to the report.