By Sara Marino
The county experienced a 22.8 percent overall decrease in crime reported in 2018 compared to 2017, despite an increase of 2,534 people moving to the county, according to statistics released Monday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"The first thing that comes to my mind is that we've been very aggressive in our task force activities with Palm Beach County and St. Lucie County in trying to deter the traveling criminals from Dade and Broward from stopping in this county," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said. "We know from the arrests we make that the biggest drive for crimes in Martin County are out-of-county residents coming here."
Every year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiles statistics in what it calls the seven major crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.
Statewide, the number of reported crimes dropped about 7.4% from 2017 to 2018.