Sheriff Wayne Ivey: Violent Crimes in 2014 Decreased By Almost 21 Percent

By  //  May 27, 2015

lowest reported crime rate in 20 years

the Brevard County Sheriff's Office saw a significant decrease in the crime rate of just over 11 percent, in fact Brevard County as a whole observed a 6.3 percent decrease in the reported Crime Rate for 2014 when compared to 2013.
the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office saw a significant decrease in the crime rate of just over 11 percent, in fact Brevard County as a whole observed a 6.3 percent decrease in the reported Crime Rate for 2014 when compared to 2013.

The incredible efforts of Brevard County’s Law Enforcement Officers, coupled with strong prison sentences for violent offenders, are truly making a difference. – Sheriff Wayne Ivey

This evening I wanted to take a moment to share with our citizens some exciting news about our Annual Crime Report that was recently collected and prepared by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the report in 2014, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office saw a significant decrease in the crime rate of just over 11 percent, in fact Brevard County as a whole observed a 6.3 percent decrease in the reported Crime Rate for 2014 when compared to 2013.

On behalf of all of the Law Enforcement Agencies in Brevard County I am extremely proud to tell you that this crime rate (per 100,000 residents) represents the lowest reported crime rate in the past 20 years.

Worthy of special note is that our Violent Crimes in 2014 decreased by almost 21 percent. Those numbers reflect an incredible decrease in the amount of reported Homicides, Sexual Batteries, Robbery, Aggravated Assault and Burglary incidents.

The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) contains official data on crime that is reported to law enforcement agencies across the United States.

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Florida UCR numbers reflect the crimes reported by law enforcement agencies to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

The UCR focuses on seven major crimes, which include: homicide, robbery, forcible rape, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny/theft, and arson.

As the Sheriff of Brevard County I am so proud of the cooperative initiatives between Brevard’s Law Enforcement communities and the partnership we have created with our citizens.

The incredible efforts of Brevard County’s Law Enforcement Officers, coupled with strong prison sentences for violent offenders, are truly making a difference.

KEEPING CRIMINALS BEHIND BARS

Let there be no doubt, if we keep violent criminals behind bars, the crime rate goes down. It is really that simple!

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The GAMEOVER Task Force and the Graffiti Busters Program were initiated to combat violent crime and gang activity within Brevard County. (BCSO images)

Criminals have no boundaries, so partnerships with Law Enforcement, our State Attorney, and our citizens are vital to lowering our crime rate and making Brevard a safe place to live, work and raise our families.

While there are many factors that have aided in lowering the crime rate, collective partnerships between Brevard County Law Enforcement agencies have been one of the most impacting.

By partnering together with programs like the GAMEOVER Task Force, the Economic Crimes Task Force, and one of the first in the country Crime Prevention Task Force, Brevard County Law Enforcement agencies have partnered together to protect the citizens of Brevard County.

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For example, the GAMEOVER Task Force and the Graffiti Busters Program were initiated to combat violent crime and gang activity within Brevard County.

Resources from various agencies were used to identify, monitor, and arrest violent offenders. By working together and sharing resources, intelligence information, and analysis, inter-agency communication was greatly enhanced and the goal of safer communities and a safer county has been realized.

TARGETING ‘WORST OF THE WORST’

The initiative was designed to measure success not by the quantity of arrests, but in the quality of arrests made.

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The Economic Crime Unit is responsible for investigating identity theft, exploitation of elderly, schemes to defraud, income tax fraud, public assistance fraud, money laundering, and/or any substantial fraudulent type crimes where the victims suffer a loss. (BCSO images)

By targeting and aggressively pursuing the “worst of the worst” criminals, a clear message is sent to criminals that Brevard Law Enforcement agencies are serious about taking them out of the game.

Recently, Brevard County’s Law Enforcement community launched two new innovative partnership concepts, the Economic Crimes Task Force and the Brevard County Crime Prevention Task Force that were both designed to share resources to protect our citizens.

The Economic Crime Unit is responsible for investigating identity theft, exploitation of elderly, schemes to defraud, income tax fraud, public assistance fraud, money laundering, and/or any substantial fraudulent type crimes where the victims suffer a loss.

This initiative, through a three-prong approach of coordinated efforts in the areas of Aggressive Investigation, Victim Advocacy, and Prevention demonstrates a “Best Practice” approach to combating this pressing problem.

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In their first eight months of operation the team members initiated over 600 cases where Brevard County citizens had been victimized.

The Brevard County Crime Prevention Task Force is a multi-agency partnership designed to work collaboratively on crime prevention initiatives in an effort to reduce crime throughout Brevard County.

INNOVATIVE CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS

In addition to the creation of consistent crime prevention messaging, the partnership works collectively to develop innovative crime prevention programs for our communities.

LEFT TO RIGHT: House Representative Rich Workman, House of Representatives Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Senate President Andy Gardiner, State Attorney Phil Archer
LEFT TO RIGHT: House Representative Rich Workman, House of Representatives Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Senate President Andy Gardiner and State Attorney Phil Archer. Sheriff Ivey and State Attorney Phil Archer held a news conference on at the Capitol to announce the launch of “It’s Time to be a Parent Again” Pilot Program to help parents with parenting issues. (BCSO image)

The Task Force serves as a force multiplier in the area of Crime Prevention for all participating agencies and their communities.

Combining personnel and resources allows each participating member to broaden their respective crime prevention efforts.

While developing this concept, other programs around the country were researched regarding their respective operations, effectiveness and efficiency.

While other prevention programs exist, this concept appears to be the first where multiple law enforcement agencies, volunteers, and citizens have partnered for the purpose of reducing crime.

This unique concept is based upon educating our citizens and equipping them with the knowledge and tools necessary to safeguard themselves, their families and their homes.

Through an aggressive prevention program we provide our citizens with the information needed to protect themselves from becoming a victim.

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Our advocacy program provides victims with the resources needed to recover from their losses while our investigative efforts identify and arrest those who prey upon our citizens.

Each of these initiatives were created using existing personnel with no additional financial impact to the citizens of Brevard.

The citizens of Brevard County are truly blessed to have an incredible group of Law Enforcement Officers who work hard every day to protect our community and our families.

At the same time with everything we see taking place around the country there is no question that the Law Enforcement Officers of Brevard County are truly blessed to have the incredible and tremendous support of a community that supports them and trusts in their professionalism and mission to protect.

On behalf of all the Law Enforcement agencies in Brevard County, I want to personally thank you for your incredible support and for everything you do to help us keep Brevard County a safe place to call home.

If you would like more information regarding crime prevention efforts please visit us at brevardsheriff.com or call our Crime Prevention Unit at 321-264-7755.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey

Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.

That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.

Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.

Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.