Pasco Crime Dips to Lowest Rate Since 1995

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco released the agency's 2011 Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) statistics on Tuesday, Feb. 21, which indicate that the index crime rate dipped 9.2 percent from 2010 to the lowest rate in 17 years.

The number of overall index crime offenses decreased 3.5 percent in the agency's jurisdiction; the statistics do not include the jurisdictions covered by the four police departments in the county.

The PSCO statistics show a 7.9 percent decrease in violent crime and a 3.1 percent decrease in nonviolent crime.  

Other key statistics include:

• An 18.7 percent decrease in robbery
• A 6.5 percent decrease in burglary
• A 6.1 percent decrease in domestic violence
• A 6 percent decrease in aggravated assault
• A 4.2 percent decrease in motor vehicle theft
• A 1.5 percent decrease in larceny

Total arrests for the agency were up 2.8 percent for the types of crimes tracked in UCR.

In 2011, the sheriff's office road patrol response times to citizen calls for service decreased to 3.8 minutes for Priority 1 emergency calls, the lowest it has ever been, according to the sheriff’s office. The national average is 7 minutes.  

Agency members also cleared 31.5 percent of their cases in 2011, whereas the state clearance rate average is 24.7 percent, according to a press release.

In 1995, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office index crime rate was 3,574.3.  In 2011, it was 3,175.1. The crime rate is determined by dividing the number of crimes committed by the number of people in the jurisdiction's population, and then multiplying by 100,000, according to PSCO spokesman Kevin Doll.

"We use these statistics as a tool to gauge where and how we may make
improvements to our service to citizens," Nocco said in a press release. "The introduction of the Intelligence-Led Policing philosophy in our agency has also been useful in targeting crime areas and the criminals who attempt to prey on the law-abiding citizens in our community.”

Though Nocco said he is encouraged by the statistics and the reflection on the “great job” deputies are doing in Pasco County, the numbers are not what the sheriff’s office judges its success on.

“Statistics ebb and flow,” Nocco said at a press conference Tuesday. And as part of the sheriff’s office’s crime prevention initiative, they are encouraging citizens to report crimes that may not have been reported in the past.

The more people who report crimes, Nocco said, the more the numbers are going to go up.

“We’re happy to see crime going down, but how many crimes aren’t being reported?” Nocco said.

Nocco also noted that the statistics mean nothing to people who are afraid to leave their homes because of crime in the area.

When the county is flourishing, and families feel safe out walking with their children; when criminals are leaving the county, and telling other criminals to do the same, “that’s success,” Nocco said.

In sports there is always a final score at the end of a game, Nocco said. But for the sheriff’s office, there is never an end. The statistics are not a “final score,” he said.