Orange County and the surrounding municipalities’ crime rate dropped by 4 percent in 2012 when compared with 2011, according to statistics released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Thursday.
Major categories of crime such as murders, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies and burglaries all declined, with motor vehicles thefts registering an increase in 2012.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office recorded a decline of 1.7 percent with regard to the overall crime index in 2012, over the previous year.
Commenting on the gains made in combatting crime, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said in a statement, “I am very proud of the work done by the men and women of the OCSO and the partnerships that have been forged and strengthened over the past four years with the community, residents and businesses. While violent crime is down, there remains much work to be done on a daily basis.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s crime rate dropped by 6.5 percent with less thefts, robberies and burglaries. However, murders rose from 985 to 1,009 or 2.4 percent and forcible sex crimes increased from 9,880 to 10,145 or 2.7 percent. Â Although there was a slight drop in rates by 0.4 percent, according to the data, forcible sodomy and forcible fondling jumped by 8.7 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.
FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey said, the drop in the crime rate is the lowest in 42 years since records have been kept.
