Cocoa Crime Rate Lowest In Nearly 20-Years, 2017 Overall Crime Rate Drops 26-Percent From 2016

'good news for the city and I’m proud of the men and women of this agency'

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – For the fourth time in five years the City of Cocoa’s crime rate has dropped significantly, improving the overall safety of citizens and visitors.

The 2017 data just submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s (FDLE) annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR) indicates a 26.2% drop in the overall crime rate within the city during the calendar year 2017 compared to the prior year.

Since 2012 reported data, this is a 35% reduction in the overall crime rate, and is the city’s lowest crime rate in more than 20 years.

The 2017 crime rate was 6,190 per capita, or 6.19 per 100 residents. This rate includes a 40.7% drop in the number of reported violent crimes to include zero homicides for the calendar year.

The data shows fewer crimes in nearly every category including 40.9% fewer assaults, 32.9% fewer robberies, 32.4% fewer burglaries and 14.8% fewer larcenies (theft) among others. Domestic violence related crimes were also down 18.5%.

The data also shows a 21.2% increase in the clearance rate for the index crimes reported.

The clearance rate is the number of cases solved by arrest, or other resolution.

“This is good news for the city and I’m proud of the men and women of this agency who work diligently every day to make Cocoa a safer community,” said Chief Mike Cantaloupe.

“We know this is a community effort and our partnerships with residents, business owners, faith leaders, civic groups, the mayor and council and city leadership as a whole are starting to yield positive results.”

In 2017, the department continued to place a high priority on connecting with the community through outreach and community education. The Community Resource Unit reached thousands of people through partnerships with local schools, community events and community watch and crime prevention programs.

Together with city leaders we continued a partnership with the community’s faith leaders in an effort to find solutions to crime and other issues. Also in 2017, the Code Enforcement Division became part of the police department creating a more effective and holistic approach to handling issues that contribute to crime in the city.

“I am proud of the fine work of our Police Department and the way our residents have stepped up to take a stand against crime in this community. They are engaged and take pride in their community and won’t let crime be the standard,” says Mayor Henry Parrish, III.

“I and City Council made a vow three years ago during the Mayor’s Crime Awareness and Prevention Summit to address the strategic issue of crime in our community by reducing the crime rate by 50% by the year 2020. We are well on the way to achieving that goal.”

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

Similar Stories