In its Friday edition, the daily newspaper attempts to go after Sheriff David Morgan for the rise in crime rate last year but ignores the much steeper increase in violent crimes inside the city of Pensacola.
Let’s compare the crime stats for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for 2012 and 2011. The 5.9 increase in crime is tied primarily to increases in burglary (556) and Aggravated Assault (236).
| Escambia County | |||
| 2012 | 2011 | Â Change | |
| Population | Â 247,489 | Â 247,322 | Â 167 |
| Index Crime | Â 13,245 | Â 12,510 | |
| Change | Â 5.9 | Â 1.0 | |
| Murder | Â 15 | Â 14 | Â 1 |
| Forcible sex | Â 132 | Â 140 | Â (8) |
| Robbery | Â 412 | Â 463 | Â (51) |
| Agg. Assault | Â 1,401 | Â 1,165 | Â 236 |
| Burglary | Â 3,156 | Â 2,600 | Â 556 |
| Larceny | Â 7,579 | Â 7,543 | Â 36 |
| Car Theft | Â 550 | Â 585 | Â (35) |
| Crime Rate | Â 5,352 | Â 5,058 | |
| Rate Change | Â 5.8 | Â 4.9 | |
However, the ECSO’s percentage of cleared cases is the highest since 2005:
| Cleared % | |
| 2012 | 26.3 |
| 2011 | 20.9 |
| 2010 | 22.8 |
| 2009 | 25.3 |
| 2008 | 25.8 |
| 2007 | 25.1 |
| 2006 | 23.5 |
| 2005 | 26.7 |
The City of Pensacola had a huge jump in murders in 2012–which more than tripled. Burglaries and Aggravated Assaults are also up.
| Pensacola | 2012 | 2011 | Â Change |
| Population | Â 52,022 | Â 51,939 | Â 83 |
| Index Crime | Â 3,505 | Â 3,357 | |
| Change | Â 4.4 | Â 13.2 | |
| Murder | Â 7 | Â 2 | Â 5 |
| Forcible sex | Â 30 | Â 28 | Â 2 |
| Robbery | Â 89 | Â 102 | Â (13) |
| Agg. Assault | Â 347 | Â 251 | Â 96 |
| Burglary | Â 711 | Â 610 | Â 101 |
| Larceny | Â 2,201 | Â 2,226 | Â (25) |
| Car Theft | Â 120 | Â 138 | Â (18) |
| Crime Rate | Â 6,738 | Â 6,436 | |
| Rate Change | Â 4.2 | Â 18.5 |
Pensacola’s seven murders are the most since the city began reporting its crime stats to FDLE in 2001:
| Murders | |
| 2012 | 7 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2009 | 3 |
| 2008 | 4 |
| 2007 | 3 |
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2004 | 1 |
| 2003 | 4 |
| 2002 | 1 |
| 2001 | 3 |
When you compare the crime rates of the county with the city (per 100,000 people), Pensacola has a bigger problem:
| Escambia | Pensacola | |
| Murder | 6.06 | 13.41 |
| Forcible sex | 53.34 | 57.47 |
| Robbery | 166.47 | 170.49 |
| Agg. Assault | 566.09 | 664.72 |
| Burglary | 1275.21 | 1362.01 |
| Larceny | 3062.36 | 4216.30 |
| Car Theft | 222.23 | 229.88 |
Recommendation for the daily: It’s best to look at all the statistics before using them.