Overall Crime In Florida Fell In First Six Months Of 2020, Murders Spiked
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) - 2020 was a very strange year in a number of areas.
More people worked from home, students adapted to online learning, and mask-wearing became a thing.
As for crime, the overall rate went down in the first six months of the year, but murders spiked over the same period from the year before, according to statistics released by the state's top law enforcement agency.
Overall, crime dropped 11.7%, but murders rose from 512 to 595, or 16.2%, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Murders by guns rose by an even higher percentage. There were 379 murdered committed with a firearm in the first six months of 2019, compared to 466 in 2020. That's an increase of 23%.
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Reported rapes declined by 9.5%, from 4224 in the first half of 2019 to 3,821 during the same period in 2020.
Robberies, burglaries, and larcenies also declined, while there were increases in motor vehicle thefts and aggravated assaults.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
