FSU Report Analyzes Tallahassee Violent Crime Trends

FSU Report Analyzes Tallahassee Violent Crime Trends

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) has established a community-wide effort to reduce gun violence. This effort involves partnering with Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice’s Center for Criminology to address the increase in homicides and nonfatal shootings within the community. Through their partnership, FSU has written the Leon County Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative: Phase I Report.

The Report presents FSU’s findings from the planning phase of the project. Through this project, FSU has determined the scope of the violent crime problem in Leon County, conducted a systematic literature review of violence intervention strategies and provided recommendations for evidence-based intervention strategies to the Community-Based Violence Intervention Strategies (CVIPI) Planning Team.

FSU completed an in-depth update and expansion of LCSO’s Anatomy of a Homicide report. FSU to conducted a detailed analyses of LCSO and Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) case files for 733 homicide and nonfatal shootings committed in Leon County over the past four years. The report states the sample includes 70 homicide incidents, 101 attempted homicides, 356 aggravated assaults with a firearm and 206 missiles fired into dwellings or conveyances.

Suspects were identified in less than half of all incidents, and approximately one-third of cases were officially cleared. One-third of incidents involved arguments, most commonly regarding petty disputes or perceptions of disrespect. Lastly, domestic violence and victim use of a weapon both occurred in approximately 10% of incidents.

During the study period, gun violence impacted 1,255 victims in Leon County, most frequently black males in their mid to late twenties. The report states most victims were physically uninjured during the incident. Four-fifths cooperated with law enforcement officers over the course of the investigation. LCSO and TPD identified a total of 414 known suspects during the study period, typically black males in their late twenties, less than a third were affiliated with gangs, and one-fifth served as accomplices. Over 40% of offenders were acquainted with their victims and over 55% were strangers to their victims.

The report shows that most shooting incidents took place in neighborhoods with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and divorce. About a fifth of the incidents were clustered in the 32301, 32303, 32304 and 32310 ZIP codes, specifically in the Providence, Bond, Frenchtown and Southside neighborhoods. The rate of gun violence in Providence and Bond were five times higher than that of other communities in the County.

The report recommends that the CVIPI Planning Team consider a focused deterrence strategy that targets both identifiable offender groups and individuals.  To support the deterrence strategy, the report recommends the CVIPI Planning Team adapt and incorporate elements of hot spots policing, problem-oriented policing, and community-oriented policing.  Finally, the report recommends implementing gun violence related prevention programs.

15 Responses to "FSU Report Analyzes Tallahassee Violent Crime Trends"

  1. Red Betty: sure, for the already adult criminals. But how do we prevent the cycle from repeating? We have to start when they’re young and remove them from home lives that tolerate and even encourage criminal behavior. I’m trying to think long term. We can’t build prisons big enough. We have to avoid bandaids and get some cures.

  2. PrettyPetty-Boarding schools are not a solution for the current crime crisis. The only way to deter a murderer and all these shootings is to put the criminal in Jail and throw away the key! The current law of catch and release isn’t working!!

  3. How many cops in Bond do you think it’ll take? 1 cop for every 3 males? There are already plenty and it doesn’t move the needle. Addressing root causes seems to be akin to rocket science. We all agree that parenting isn’t happening, schools are ill equipped to care for the whole child on meager budgets, and the problem is cyclical/generational. The answer is not to lock more people up for longer amounts of time when that simply perpetuates the lack of parenting. If school and homes are the problem, that’s where we should dump money to attempt a fix. BOARDING SCHOOLS. Redirect the food stamps, medicaid and cash assistance from the no good homes to the new boarding programs. Parents that care about their kids will be lined up down the street if it means their kids get a small chance at a different life. Change just one generation, and we’d see residual effects. Roll the idea around on your tongue and see how it tastes. The old ways don’t work. More police/jails won’t work and who would pay for that??? Inmates already get better medical and dental care than working people. Recidivism signals jail life isn’t the deterrent we’d all hoped it was. Let’s instead spend that money on still innocent children who can be taught a better way.

  4. All the reports, policies, and gun laws in the world won’t change the hate in someone’s heart. The State Attorney needs to be fired. If he would keep these thugs locked up for 20 years, crime would decrease tremendously.

  5. Nothing will ever be done to address this growing epidemic so long as lies and false narratives dominate over reality.

    There is no such thing as “gun violence”. A gun cannot commit a violent act. A gun is an inanimate object incapable of acting of its own volition. The violence rest within the individual or individuals engaged in the violent act… a gun is nothing more that a weapon of choice, much like a knife, a baseball bat, a golf club, poison, a hammer, or a car.

    As always… it is not the weapon in their hand, it’s the evil in their heart. Let me know when you get around to facing the reality of our cultural and societal decline at the hands of the progressively-Marxist, anti-America, antiemetic, terrorist-supporting Democrats. Until then, it’s just BlahBlahBlah…

  6. It isn’t like the first murders took place on our Sheriffs and Police Chief’s watch. In fact, murder has been documented in the first book of the Bible thousands of years ago. What is amazing is our elected officials, Police Chief and Sheriff think a thorough study is needed to deal with the problem. In the progressive liberal democrat’s mind our crime is at an acceptable level.

  7. It amazes me the way Tallahassee breaks down the Democrats as progressives and then the other Democrats are okay. They are ALL progressives.

    However, there are two progresses that are more fiscally responsible on the city commission than the mayor, DWC, and Curtis. Vote Curtis out.

  8. Sounds like the report recommends doubling down on failed policies.

    If people want less crime, I suggest, stop voting for progressives.

  9. Based on the raw numbers, somebody is shot in the area every other day. That’s simply unacceptable.

    Instead of giving the taxpayers’ money away, use it to hire more cops and build more jails.

  10. “Finally, the report recommends implementing gun violence related prevention programs.” ……….. SO, what Programs are THEY recommending? I highly recommend adding the Proper Charges, Longer Stays in Prison and Longer Times on Probation. Keep them off the Streets for 20 or more Years so they can’t influence anyone else.

  11. You don’t need to commission a report to know you need more cops in Providence and Bond neighborhoods. I could have told you that years ago and all I did was pay attention.

    I am so sick of all these masters of the obvious telling us what to do, and then sending us a bill for it.

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