TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Police Department released its annual crime report.
Despite some high-profile incidents last year, the numbers were positive. The report, released Monday night, is largely good news for the city of Tampa.
The biggest highlight is that violent crime in Tampa is three times lower than the national average for other cities of the same size. Gun crimes are significantly down, by more than 17%.
There are still major crime events that come to mind when locals think of Tampa. Most notably, the deadly Halloween night shooting in Ybor City. Chief Lee Bercaw addressed that incident in a video released Monday night about this report.
"In Ybor, we lost 2 young lives and 16 were injured. However, the community still came together," Bercaw said. "With the community's support, we were able to make arrests within hours of that offense. 2023 showed Tampa is resilient and we are safer together."
Tampa has a population of roughly 400,000 residents, and TPD has about 1,000 officers. The chief said because of this, community support is key to keeping the city safe.
The chief went on to highlight some of the other positive things that happened over the past year, including some community initiatives he believes are making a real difference.
"Town hall Tuesdays...created an open forum to address concerns and create solutions that work for your neighborhoods," Bercaw said. "Strengthen programs like our Police Athletic League and Rich Houses...provide safe spaces for our youth to learn, grow and connect with police officers who serve as their positive role models. I'm looking forward to expanding our community-oriented policing efforts and strengthening our relationship with you."
The report also shows use of force in making arrests decreased by 6%, and de-escalation techniques increased by nearly 10%. Chief Bercaw credited the changes to improvements in officer training and revised standards within the department.