Crime rate in Haines City falls by more than 19%

HAINES CITY — Despite an increase in its population, the crime rate in Haines City has fallen by more than 19% in 2021, earning it the title of one of Florida's top 50 safest cities by SafeWise.

SafeWise, a publication that focuses on safety issues and safety data, listed Haines City as the 43rd safest city in the state.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), that number is slightly lower than the 2020 figure of 22%.

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With population increasing by 29% since 2015, Haines City said the police department continues to increase its number of sworn personnel to ensure that city crime continues to decrease, according to a news release. The agency now has an allotment for 70 sworn officers.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have a supportive City Commission and city administration who believe in our vision and understand the role that law enforcement plays in providing a high quality of life for our residents and business owners,” Haines City Police Chief Jim Elensky said. “We also value the collaboration that we have with other law enforcement and criminal justice partners, including the State Attorney’s Office as we all strive to make our communities safer.”

The UCR reflects statistics for seven crimes: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. The 2021 UCR numbers show a total of 1,326 crimes per 100,000 residents.

According to a release, this is the third year total crime rate dipped to a new low in Haines City.

“Crime continuing to hit historic lows year after year is a testament to the hard work of our officers and the success of our crime suppression strategies,” Elensky said. “We will continue to be proactive in identifying hot spots, making sure our officers are in the right position to combat these crimes and following up to ensure our strategies are working.”

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Available UCR data could only be found dating back to 1995, but crime rates have dropped significantly statewide since then. There were 61 total fewer indexed crimes in 2021 despite a rise in population of 7%. Violent crime rate fell by almost 11% and property crime rate decreased by greater than 20%.

“The fact that potential residents and business owners can move to our city and know they’re going to be safe and well protected is a huge burden off our shoulders as city administrators,” City Manager Edward Walker Dean said. “My hat goes off to Chief Elensky and all the men and women who put their lives on the line to make sure we can sleep soundly at night. Too often, we take that for granted.”

Rebecca Lee covers public safety and courts for The Ledger. She can be reached at Rlee3@gannett.com. Find her on Twitter and Instagram at @RELReports.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: As crime rate falls, Haines City named one of Florida's safest cities