In nearly every major category, Brevard County saw crime rates fall last year, according to new data released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
While the population of the county increased since 2018, the amount of crimes investigated by police went down. Brevard's overall crime rate fell by 3.2% in 2019 after falling a reported 11.8% the year before.
The crime rate for 2019 fell to 2,438 reported crimes per 100,000 people in the county from 2,565.3 the previous year.
Brevard County's numbers track with the statewide trend, as crime rates dropped 5%, which roughly matches Florida's decrease of 4.6%.
Brevard County saw its number of homicides go down from 29 to 23 while the state's homicide rate increased by 1.5%.
Only in two major categories — rapes and vehicle theft — did the crime rate increase in 2019 compared to the previous year on the Space Coast. The total number of rapes increased from 216 to 262.
Melbourne Police Chief David Gillespie said there's no one factor that wholly explains the reduced crime rates for Brevard County or Melbourne, which saw a 6 percent drop in its crime rate.
"I think it's a combination of things," Gillespie said. "Part of it is increases in staffing. That helps, because there's more of a presence out in the community. Part of it is working with the community and working with people to report crimes."
"If people are reporting crimes, we're on top of it and we can address crimes quicker, which prevents future crimes," he added.
"I'd love to take credit for all of it, but I can't," he said, crediting the community.
External factors such as the coronavirus pandemic or nationwide protests also can have an impact on the crime rate outside of ordinary police work, he said.
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Quality-of-life crimes that stem from homelessness, drug use and poverty are always at the forefront of Melbourne's policing, Gillespie said.
"Connecting people with other services, whether it's addiction counseling, housing, health care or anything else, can also prevent crime," he added. "We can't always arrest the problem away."
Weekly crime meetings with other area jurisdictions, adapting to trends quickly and community outreach are also all essential to further reducing crime rates, Gillespie said.
Real, solid relationships with people in the community ensure people come forward when crimes are committed is key to preventing future crimes, according to Gillespie.
In an emailed statement, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said he credits the drop in crime to "the partnerships that have been built between the Sheriff’s Office, our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and our amazing citizens."
"It is not uncommon to see a slight fluctuation in particular crimes from year to year, as we did in 2019," Ivey said. "There are many reasons this can occur. We are always laser-focused on any increase, and when these results are received, we look to identify the factors related to an increase and/or decrease in crime to assist in providing the most effective allocation of resources."
Smaller cities can see their crime rates fluctuate more drastically, with only a few additional cases creating larger percentage increases. Years past showed more drastic swings up or down for smaller municipalities than for the county as a whole.
Melbourne Beach, which saw only 15 total cases of burglary, larceny or theft in 2018, reported 30 such property crimes this year. The fluctuation, while a drastic increase in the percentage of crimes committed, is in keeping with data recorded over previous years.
Indialantic and Satellite Beach were two other beachside communities that reported similar drastic increases in crime rates, despite only adding a few additional property crime cases year-over-year. Each of those municipalities reported low tallies of violent crimes in 2019.
Titusville was alone among Brevard's largest cities and unincorporated areas of the county to see an increase in the crime rate. In Titusville, the crime rate went up by 10%, with marked increases of aggravated assault and larceny.
Brevard County Crime Rate 2019
(Crime reported: 2018 total; 2019 total)
Murder: 29; 23
Rape: 216; 262
Robbery: 336; 332
Aggravated Assault: 1,635; 1,607
Burglary: 2,262; 2,019
Larceny: 9,612; 9,322
Vehicle Theft: 880; 928
Crime Rate Change
(Percent change in crime rate, by city)
Brevard County Sheriff's Office (unincorporated): -7.2%
Cocoa Police Department: -4.2%
Cocoa Beach Police Department: -19.5%
Indialantic Police Department: +62.8%
Indian Harbour Beach Police Department: -7.5%
Melbourne Police Department: -6%
Melbourne Beach Police Department: +99%
Rockledge Police Department: -5.4%
Satellite Beach Police Department: +77.2%
Titusville Police Department: +10%
Palm Bay Police Department: -7.6%
Melbourne Village Police Department: -39.1%
West Melbourne Police Department: -10.7%
Contact Vazquez at tvazquez@floridatoday.com, 321-917-7491 or on Twitter @tyler_vazquez. Support his work by subscribing to FloridaToday.com.
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