FDLE: Florida’s overall crime rate down, murders up in 2020

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Crime was down overall in Florida during 2020, but violent crime rose, according to statistics released by the state on Monday.

There were 1,285 murders in Florida last year, an increase of 260, or 14.7% from 2019. Of those, 1,025 were committed with a gun, up 20.2% from the year before. Murders committed with a gun made up nearly 80% of the state’s total, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s annual crime report.

In a year when many people worked at home or stayed home more often during the coronavirus pandemic, burglaries, robberies and larcenies dropped significantly. There were 13,439 robberies, a drop of 17% from 2019; 51,928 burglaries, down 17.8%; and 291,923 larcenies, down 18.5%.

Florida also saw a drop in the number of reported rapes, from 8,439 in 2019 to 7,650 in 2020, or a decrease of 9.3%. Motor vehicle thefts also slightly dropped.

Aggravated assaults increased by 9.5% from 55,333 in 2019 to 60,567 last year.

Overall, factoring in the state’s growth in population, all crime was down 15.7% in 2020.