Collier County’s community crime rate dropped 3.4 percent during the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year, Collier County Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk announced Wednesday.
There were 2,901 crimes reported in unincorporated Collier County and Everglades City during the first half of 2010, according to preliminary numbers recently submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. That number is down from the 3,003 crimes reported during the first six months of 2009.
The statistics represent the categories of homicide, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.
Sheriff Rambosk congratulated the community for the role it played in keeping Collier County safe.
“All of us have ownership of this 3.4 percent drop,” he said. “Whether you made sure your car doors were locked, reported suspicious activity to law enforcement or started a Neighborhood Watch program, you contributed to this number.”
Sexual assaults dropped by the greatest percentage, showing a 25.4 percent reduction from 59 in 2009 to 44 this year. Motor vehicle thefts decreased from 115 to 91, a 20.9 percent drop. Burglaries dipped 9.8 percent from 562 to 507; and larcenies dropped 1 percent from 1,811 to 1,793.
Homicides held steady, with 4 reported during the first half of both 2009 and 2010.
Two categories saw an increase. Robberies increased 3.3 percent from 91 during the first half of 2009 to 94 during the same period this year; and aggravated assaults rose 1.9 percent from 361 to 368.
While the overall drop in crime was impressive, Sheriff Rambosk cautioned that CCSO needs everyone’s help to continue to keep the crime rate low.
“This is the community’s crime rate, and it’s going to take the entire community working together with our deputies to keep it low,” he said.
Here are some of the ways citizens can help deputies drive crime down:
* Lock your car and keep valuables out of view
* Schedule a home or business security survey by a CCSO Crime Prevention specialist
* Report unusual activity to law enforcement
* Start or join a Neighborhood Watch program
* Mentor a child
* Be alert and aware of your surroundings
* Join one of CCSO’s Community Safety Teams to help address code enforcement and other problems at the neighborhood level
* Protect personal information like your Social Security number, computer passwords and banking information.
* When online, don’t chat with strangers or respond to their e-mails
Click here to see the Part 1 crimes numbers.
