SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Sarasota Police Department announced a more than 16% drop in Part I crimes in 2023. That includes homicides, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies, and vehicle thefts. And for the first time since 1967, police said the city saw zero killings within the 2023 calendar year.
In 2022, there were seven homicides, and so far this year, a man was killed in a shooting at the Sarasota Commons shopping plaza.
“We have an infusion of a lot of people these days, so you would think that crime would increase. I think our mission in this past year, one of the things that was very important for us is to be very visible in the city, one of the other things to improve communication and build relationships within the city and I think that has occurred. I think because of those relationships and that exchange of information, I think crime took a big dip in the City Of Sarasota,” said Police Chief Rex Troche.
And the number of arrests within the city increased by nearly 15% from 2022. The number of guns seized also jumped more than 15% in 2023.
“This accomplishment means a lot to me. I have been in law enforcement for 27 years, this is something that is not taken lightly. The percentage in the decrease of 16.2% is something that every police chief, sheriff…a dream come true. It is a huge decrease in Part I crimes, add in there in 2023 with all the visitors and all the people that live in the City Of Sarasota, that we did not have one homicide, it means the world to me,” said Chief Troche.
