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FBI Reports Fewer Violent Crimes In Tampa In 2007

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 10, 2008

TAMPA - Reported violent crimes in Tampa dropped 7 percent last year but rose 1 percent in Clearwater and 2 percent in St. Petersburg, in part because of more murders, according to crime figures released this week by the FBI.

These preliminary figures comprise the annual Uniform Crime Report, which the FBI uses to compare crimes around the country reported in seven categories: the violent crimes of murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and the property crimes of burglary, larceny and motor-vehicle theft.

The FBI's methodology does not match the way local law enforcement agencies track crimes in keeping with state statutes. For instance, the FBI considers forcible sodomy and forcible fondling – both sex offenses under Florida law – as aggravated assault. The FBI also typically counts only one offense per incident.

In the FBI report, law enforcement agencies as a whole reported a 1.4 percent decrease in the total number of violent crimes in 2007 compared with 2006.

Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater each recorded more murders last year than in 2006, according to the FBI report. The largest increase – 150 percent – occurred in Clearwater, with four reported in 2006 but 10 in 2007. The number of reported murders rose 12 percent in Tampa, from 25 to 28, and 24 percent in St. Petersburg, from 21 to 26.

Reported rapes declined in each city, the most in Tampa, with 133 in 2006 and 80 in 2007, a reduction of 40 percent. Reported rapes fell 23 percent in Clearwater, from 44 to 34, and fell 8 percent in St. Petersburg, from 112 to 103.

The number of reported aggravated assaults fluctuated, increasing 4 percent in St. Petersburg, from 2,588 to 2,684. They declined 8 percent in Tampa, from 2,470 to 2,262, and 5 percent in Clearwater, from 614 to 584.

Reported robberies rose 20 percent in Clearwater, from 200 to 240, but dropped 1 percent in St. Petersburg, from 1,032 to 1,017. This category stayed nearly the same in Tampa between the years surveyed, from 1,211 in 2006 to 1,205 in 2007.

Nationwide, the total number of property crimes reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI decreased 2.1 percent from 2006 to 2007, the FBI report states.

Property crimes reported in the Bay area followed this trend. The number of stolen vehicles in particular decreased the most, dropping 30 percent in Tampa, from 3,087 to 2,164. This statistic fell 19 percent in Clearwater, from 428 to 347, and 16 percent in St. Petersburg, from 2,761 to 2,316.

The number of larcenies reported also decreased, falling 10 percent in St. Petersburg, from 10,182 to 9,156. This statistic fell 8 percent in Tampa, from 11,251 to 10,390, and 2 percent in Clearwater, from 3,527 to 3,469.

Reported burglaries rose 7 percent in St. Petersburg, from 3,466 to 3,717, but decreased in the other two cities: 5 percent in Tampa, from 4,451 to 4,221, and 2 percent in Clearwater, from 882 to 862.

To see the FBI's entire preliminary report, go to www.fbi.gov/ucr/2007prelim/index.html. Click on "Table 4" to compare the Bay area's cities with others in Florida and nationwide.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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