Florida's Crime Rate Drops, But Sexual Assaults Are Rising

Florida's overall crime rate is dropping, but the number of reported sex offenses and sexual assaults is rising.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released Friday a summary of crime information for the six months of 2015.

The report showed overall crime volume dropped 2.2 percent compared to the first six months of last year. The numbers are based on information submitted by law-enforcement agencies across the state.

The number of murders so far this year in the Sunshine State has dropped slightly from 492 in the first half of 2015 to 489 in the first half of 2015.

But FDLE reported that there has been a 7.1 percent increase in forcible sex offenses and a 5.4 percent increase in the number of sexual assaults. Domestic violence crimes also rose 1.7 percent during the first half of 2015.

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