FDLE: Crime rises on Sanibel, falls in unincorporated Lee
The city of Sanibel had an uptick in crime in 2018, while unincorporated Lee County saw a drop.
Last week, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced the release of the annual Uniform Crime Report, which includes statistics based on data gathered from law enforcement statewide.
According to the information, the Sanibel Police Department recorded a total of 71 crimes last year compared to 61 offenses in 2017 – a 16.4 percent increase year-over-year. Based off a population of 100,000, the crime rate for 2018 was 1,059.5 – a 15.7 percent increase over the 916.1 rate in 2017.
Covering unincorporated Lee County, which includes Captiva, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office recorded a total of 6,919 crimes last year compared to 7,310 in 2017 – a 5.2 percent decrease year-over-year. The 2018 crime rate was 1,554.4 – a 6.8 percent drop over the 1,668.3 rate in 2017.
The UCR indicates that Sanibel recorded zero murders and zero robberies in 2018, same as the previous year. In addition, two rapes were reported last year – same as for 2017 – however, the city saw zero aggravated assaults recorded in 2018, while a total of three were noted the year before.
The number of burglaries rose from nine in 2017 to 11 last year, while larcenies saw the largest increase among the offenses listed on the report – jumping from 47 in 2017 to 58 last year.
There were zero motor vehicle thefts recorded between the two years.
The UCF indicates that the LCSO recorded 26 murders and 202 rapes in 2018 – versus 32 and 174, respectively, the year before. Last year, there were 257 robberies and 787 aggravated assaults reported within unincorporated Lee County, compared to 313 robberies and 780 aggravated assaults in 2017.
For the LCSO, the number of burglaries dropped from 1,339 to 1,000 in 2018 and larcenies dipped from 4,108 to 4,023, while motor vehicle theft offenses rose from 555 in 2017 to 624 last year.
The Annual UCR can be found at www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/UCR-Reports.aspx.