News and Investigations

Crime in the Polk County Sheriff's Office primary law enforcement response area is down 5.9%  comparing 2017 to 2018. According to Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data, as reported semi-annually and annually to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), there were 415 fewer crimes in 2018 than 2017 in the Polk County Sheriff's Office's primary jurisdiction.  
 
The Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction includes all of unincorporated Polk County; cities contracted with the PCSO including Polk City, Frostproof, Eagle Lake, Fort Meade, Dundee, and Mulberry; and the town of Hillcrest Heights and the village of Highland Park. 

"Don't mess with success. The rules in place have created the opportunity for a low crime rate. I hope our legislators are paying attention to this statewide trending low crime rate, and will acknowledge that putting the right people in prison is key. Some legislators want to release robbers, burglars, and thieves in your neighborhoods, but we know that without the proper rules and without locking up the offenders who commit crimes, crime will go up. Please remember that a low crime rate doesn't just happen - it takes a community and law enforcement working together to keep people safe. I'm very proud of our deputies and their crime reduction efforts last year." - Grady Judd, Sheriff  

There were 6,642 crimes in 2018, as compared to 7,057 in 2017, a total reduction in reported crimes of 5.9%.  
 
The seven measured crime categories are: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.  

Crime in the Polk County unincorporated area and Sheriff's Office contract cities:
 
Category            2017          2018
Murder                   11              15
Rape                      81              83
Robbery               133            100
Agg Assault         981          1,007
Burglary            1,475          1,196
Larceny             3,790         3,677
Vehicle Theft        586            564
 
TOTALS             7,057        6,642
 
Polk crime rate is at historic low. 
 
Polk County's crime rate in the unincorporated areas and contract cities (for which the Polk County Sheriff's Office is responsible) also dropped from 2017 to 2018, according to the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics reported annually to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
 
The crime rate, which is the number of crimes per 100 residents, is down 7.3% from 2017 (1.64) to 2018 (1.52)*. This is the lowest crime rate ever measured in PCSO's jurisdiction, breaking the previous record low of 1.64 crimes per 100 from last year. Reliable crime statistics in Polk County started in 1971, when the crime rate was recorded at 4.16 crimes per 100. 
 
Since 1997, the crime rate in Polk County has fallen by 77.2%. In 2018, the Polk/PCSO crime rate was 49% less than the most recently release Florida state crime rate in 2017 (1.52 compared to 2.99).

*source: University of Florida, BEBR