In 2019, the arrest rate in Florida fell by 6.3%, marking the 49th consecutive year the state has seen a reduction, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s annual report.(File photo.) Statewide, Florida saw another year of reduction in its average arrest rate even as crimes such as murder went up. In 2019, the arrest rate in Florida fell by 6.3%, marking the 49th consecutive year the state has seen a reduction, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The 2019 Uniform Crime Report also shows 26,128 fewer reported offenses compared with 2018 , a 4.6% decrease of total index crimes. Florida had 787 arrests for murder last year and 710 in 2018, a 10.8% increase. In 2019, rape arrests dropped to 1,765 from 1,937 in 2018, representing an 8.9% reduction. These numbers are not representative of the actual crime rates, since many crimes go unreported. Nearly 80% of rapes go unreported, according to a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Justice. And even when crimes are reported to the police, authorities do not always report or investigate these crimes. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties all saw similar reductions in crime rates, although Miami-Dade and Broward went down at a lower rate than the state average of 6.3% at 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively, according to the report. In Palm Beach County, the average crime rate fell by 7.9%. Murders in Miami-Dade County went up to 202 from 198 the previous year and reported rapes went to 955 from 916. In Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Dade Police Department reported 90 murders and 478 rapes. The Miami Police Department reported 43 murders and 152 rapes. The Hialeah Police Department reported 6 murders and 30 rapes. In the next largest city, Pembroke Pines, there were 7 murders and 36 […]
