St. Lucie's crime rate down 7.2 percent

By WILL GREENLEE
The crime rate per 100,000 in Fort Pierce and fast-growing Port St. Lucie decreased last year, though rose slightly in the unincorporated county, according to state statistics released Tuesday.
The local figures, which reflect reports in seven categories of serious crimes, came from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as that agency and Governor Jeb Bush announced the state's index crime rate has reached a 34-year low.

The Port St. Lucie police showed a 10.4 percent drop from 2004 in the crime rate per 100,000, which appears to be a product of population growth because the number of serious crime reports remained essentially unchanged in 2004 and 2005.

Port St. Lucie's population last year was 129,135, an increase of about 14,000 from 2004, though the total number of serious crimes in 2005 increased by just 15.

"Overall I think we've done a fantastic job," Chief John Skinner said.
He said it appears the city won't be able to proclaim it's the safest of its size in the state as it has in years past.

"You can only keep it down so long," Skinner said. "You do the very best you can, but it's difficult when you have that many coming into the city."

The Fort Pierce police recorded a 5.1 percent drop in the crime rate per 100,000 from 2004, which Assistant Chief Sean Baldwin attributed partially to partnerships with the community and other law enforcement agencies and hard work by his department's officers.

"We had some significant decreases in our burglary and theft, which traditionally account for significant portions of our crimes," he said.

Burglaries dropped from 970 in 2004 to 872 last year while larceny went from 1,912 in 2004 to 1,629 last year.

Homicides, however, rose to 10 last year from six in 2004, and Fort Pierce continues to have the highest crime rate per 100,000 in the county.

Statistics show the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office had a 2.8 percent increase in the crime rate per 100,000 last year, with significant jumps in larceny and motor vehicle theft, which Sheriff Ken Mascara called "crimes of opportunity."

"Our crime prevention unit continues to try to educate our public on how to keep things locked up and secure when they're not around," Mascara said. "We are trying to address those little increases that we're experiencing."

Crime down

For seven major crimes, the crime rate dropped in St. Lucie County from 2004 to 2005, based on crimes per 100,000 residents:
Port St. Lucie: -10.4.
Fort Pierce: -5.1.
Sheriff's Office: +2.8.
St. Lucie County total: -7.2.