…… got crime?

     They say when economies tank, crime inevitably follows. 

     Fort Lauderdale is no exception, at least in January.  But was crime up in your neighborhood? We’ll answer that for you in just a minute.


     Let’s look at the Big Picture first. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department reports that violent crimes City-Wide (murder,rape,robbery, and aggravated assault), were up 10% this January over last January. And property crimes (burglary, car thefts/break-ins, and other larcenies) were up 4% over last year. 
     But these increases are relatively small compared to increases in cities like Boston, St. Louis, Orlando, and Detroit, where violent crime categories have surged 20% to 30%. And Fort Lauderdale Police officials say February numbers, due out any day, are looking much better. But where are the most serious problems occurring in Fort Lauderdale?  …………   and ……….

      what neighborhood is winning the least coveted “most crimes” distinction so far this year ?  ….  

     It’s South Middle River, with 36 major crimes already reported in the first month of 2009. South Middle River is a  sprawling neighborhood north of Sunrise Boulevard and east of Powerline Road. It has dozens of ways in and out (a crook’s preference), hodge-podge zoning that inhibits homeowners looking out for their neighbors, and a very diverse make-up that includes a mix of gays moving in and gentrifying, and many of the city’s poorest Haitian immigrants.

                                            
                                          FLPD keeping watch on SMR’s drug dealer problems  


      Compare SMR’s crime totals (36), to other neighborhoods in the city. Here is a sampling of safer neighborhoods, crimes reported,  in January:

Bal Harbour – 0
Beverly Heights – 1
Collee Hammock – 2
Dolphin Isles – 1
Nurmi Isles – 0
Galt Ocean Mile – 3
Harbor Beach – 1
Rio Vista – 3
Sunrise Intracoastal – 0

     But there are other neighborhoods with substantial amounts of crime also: 

     Mayor Jack Seiler’s neighborhood (Coral Ridge) reported (12) crimes, Commissioner Bruce Roberts’ (Imperial Point) reported (7) and coming in near the top of the list, at #3, with (25) crimes reported,  is Dorsey Riverbend, home of

                                                                
                                                 Police Chief Frank Adderley !
                                                          (feeling the pain!)


     To find out how your neighborhood ranks, click on the link below ……..

                                                            http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/police/pdf/statistics/HOA_YTD.pdf