[New2FL]

I keep listening to the news and almost every day I hear bad things happennings in Ft. Lauderdale. Banks and storesare being burglarized, home invasions are a frequent occurence, people getting shot, etc. What is the cause of all of this? Any one care to elaborate in the causes? What about Miami Dade. Is it any better/worst and why so.
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[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by New2FL

I keep listening to the news and almost every day I hear bad things happennings in Ft. Lauderdale. Banks and storesare being burglarized, home invasions are a frequent occurence, people getting shot, etc. What is the cause of all of this? Any one care to elaborate in the causes? What about Miami Dade. Is it any better/worst and why so.

In Miami-Dade it's so bad you don't even hear about burglaries on the news from there.

In Fort Lauderdale there is a high concentration of poor residents and a high concentration of wealthy residents with a hollow middle. Some of it's inner city areas have poverty issues, and these folks from the inner city come to the "nicer" areas to commit their robberies/burglaries. The sunny weather and the transient nature also tends to attract a lot of homelessness, drug addicts, and generally odd characters that had a hard time fitting in anywhere else. All and all I wouldn't call it worse than any other major U.S city but it's getting worse every day, and the oddball characteristic is uniquely Lauderdale. And like any other city, residents left for the suburbs, leaving formerly nice neighborhoods in decay. In fact, Fort Lauderdale was tending on population loss until 2000 (the opposite of surrounding areas, which were the fastest growing in the nation), and now it's beginning to trend on loss again. Still, the crime rate is pretty bad and that's a pretty good snapshot as why. Fort Lauderdale is pretty crazy.

[jhlcomp]

I read the stats and have come to the conclusion that I live in a bubble or just darned lucky. If you live in an area where crime is rampant then you have to assume that, at some point, the odds will be against you.

One of my employees lives in Doral (west Miami) with his parents and two younger brothers. His brother just happened to have a run-in with a gang member and now their lives are hell on earth - literally. If they could afford it, they would move to north Florida in a heartbeat.

I don't have children and and didn't realize the profound situation with gangs here. Is it so horrible? No, if you know where to live and can afford to be in a protected area.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by jhlcomp

I read the stats and have come to the conclusion that I live in a bubble or just darned lucky. If you live in an area where crime is rampant then you have to assume that, at some point, the odds will be against you.

Yeah, depends on if you live in a high crime area or not. Doral isn't particularly safe, although it is by Miami standards. We certainly don't live in a high crime area, but at least I don't have to sit behind a guarded gate to feel safe, so I guess it hasn't got quite that bad yet...

[New2FL]

Thank you for the information. How about Port Saint Lucie? I heard it is quite a safe town. Is there any type of night life there? I want to live in a low crime, low traffic area, and Miami is too congested, but I also don't want to be bored to death living in a sleepy little town in the middle of no-where. No offense. I am only looking for information.

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

In Miami-Dade it's so bad you don't even hear about burglaries on the news from there.

In Fort Lauderdale there is a high concentration of poor residents and a high concentration of wealthy residents with a hollow middle. Some of it's inner city areas have poverty issues, and these folks from the inner city come to the "nicer" areas to commit their robberies/burglaries. The sunny weather and the transient nature also tends to attract a lot of homelessness, drug addicts, and generally odd characters that had a hard time fitting in anywhere else. All and all I wouldn't call it worse than any other major U.S city but it's getting worse every day, and the oddball characteristic is uniquely Lauderdale. And like any other city, residents left for the suburbs, leaving formerly nice neighborhoods in decay. In fact, Fort Lauderdale was tending on population loss until 2000 (the opposite of surrounding areas, which were the fastest growing in the nation), and now it's beginning to trend on loss again. Still, the crime rate is pretty bad and that's a pretty good snapshot as why. Fort Lauderdale is pretty crazy.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by New2FL

Thank you for the information. How about Port Saint Lucie? I heard it is quite a safe town. Is there any type of night life there? I want to live in a low crime, low traffic area, and Miami is too congested, but I also don't want to be bored to death living in a sleepy little town in the middle of no-where. No offense. I am only looking for information.

No offense taken. PSL is basically a blue collar area that is growing into a WPB commuter suburb. It's fine, but really, really bland.

The other half of Broward County (west of University Drive) fit the bill if you can afford it. 20 minutes west of Fort Lauderdale and 30 minutes north of Miami is really a world away.

I recommend Weston in particular. Look up the City-Data crime rate and come out here for yourself and I think you will be impressed. This comes with a price though; very expensive, and aside from a couple of nice restaurants, there isn't much in town. In all honesty, I can't remember the last time I got stuck in traffic either. I mean, if I had to commute on 595 in the morning I might get some sluggishness, but when I had to do that I just took Griffin Rd. and it was no problem.

Crime in Weston by Year
Type 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
per 100,000 0.0 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rapes 3 5 3 3 5 4 6
per 100,000 11.4 9.9 5.8 4.8 7.9 6.2 9.0
Robberies 4 10 6 9 25 18 16
per 100,000 15.3 19.8 11.6 14.4 39.3 27.7 24.0
Assaults 45 43 41 68 92 109 74
per 100,000 171.6 85.0 79.5 108.5 144.6 167.8 110.8
Burglaries 129 88 117 75 123 141 157
per 100,000 491.9 174.0 227.0 119.6 193.3 217.0 235.1
Thefts 395 383 333 326 585 599 749
per 100,000 1506.1 757.5 646.1 520.1 919.4 922.0 1121.5
Auto thefts 75 66 63 53 65 33 61
per 100,000 286.0 130.5 122.2 84.6 102.2 50.8 91.3
Arson 1 3 4 6 6 10 11
per 100,000 3.8 5.9 7.8 9.6 9.4 15.4 16.5
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 252.8) 165.6 95.6 75.6 65.8 105.5 102.9 105.2

Here are some stats for some surrounding west Broward towns I would also consider

Crime in Davie by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 2 1 0 5 4 1 2 2
per 100,000 3.2 1.4 0.0 6.3 4.9 1.2 2.4 2.3
Rapes 14 4 5 11 13 20 19 20
per 100,000 22.2 5.4 6.4 13.9 16.0 24.3 22.5 23.4
Robberies 74 53 73 77 94 89 71 80
per 100,000 117.4 72.0 94.0 97.2 115.6 108.3 84.1 93.4
Assaults 214 230 198 224 244 260 206 193
per 100,000 339.4 312.5 254.9 282.9 300.1 316.5 244.0 225.4
Burglaries 580 562 639 702 580 701 556 450
per 100,000 920.0 763.6 822.6 886.6 713.3 853.3 658.4 525.6
Thefts 2,488 2,359 2,385 2,313 2,326 2,315 2,293 2,102
per 100,000 3946.4 3205.1 3070.2 2921.1 2860.5 2818.1 2715.4 2454.9
Auto thefts 506 432 423 367 357 310 311 313
per 100,000 802.6 586.9 544.5 463.5 439.0 377.4 368.3 365.6
Arson 16 14 11 12 28 6 14 7
per 100,000 25.4 19.0 14.2 15.2 34.4 7.3 16.6 8.2
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 320.4) 413.7 319.8 308.3 325.5 316.8 320.4 280.9 260.7

Notice decrease in crime rate. This isn't underreporting, the crime rate really is lowering. I think Davie is becoming the next Coral Springs.

Crime in Plantation by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 4 3 2 3 3 3 4 3
per 100,000 4.8 3.5 2.4 3.5 3.5 3.5 4.6 3.4
Rapes 16 5 11 13 7 13 15 5
per 100,000 19.4 5.8 12.9 15.0 8.1 15.0 17.2 5.7
Robberies 118 123 134 117 109 136 114 131
per 100,000 143.0 141.6 157.5 134.9 126.2 156.7 130.4 149.8
Assaults 138 114 153 127 118 117 93 123
per 100,000 167.3 131.2 179.8 146.4 136.6 134.8 106.4 140.7
Burglaries 603 522 646 648 549 621 587 622
per 100,000 731.0 600.9 759.3 747.2 635.6 715.3 671.4 711.4
Thefts 3,425 3,004 3,194 3,096 2,881 2,642 2,586 2,708
per 100,000 4152.0 3458.1 3754.0 3569.9 3335.6 3043.2 2957.9 3097.0
Auto thefts 708 550 504 431 334 287 335 345
per 100,000 858.3 633.1 592.4 497.0 386.7 330.6 383.2 394.6
Arson 14 8 5 7 9 5 5 6
per 100,000 17.0 9.2 5.9 8.1 10.4 5.8 5.7 6.9
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 325.5) 387.5 311.3 349.0 323.5 287.5 291.1 279.2 289.8

Crime in Coral Springs by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 1 3 2 2 2 0 0 2
per 100,000 0.9 2.4 1.7 1.6 1.6 0.0 0.0 1.5
Rapes 18 22 13 25 24 22 9 2
per 100,000 15.9 17.9 10.8 20.3 18.8 16.9 6.9 1.5
Robberies 59 76 73 87 70 80 58 86
per 100,000 52.1 61.9 60.5 70.8 54.7 61.6 44.2 65.7
Assaults 226 205 157 178 194 217 157 202
per 100,000 199.6 166.9 130.2 144.8 151.6 167.1 119.6 154.2
Burglaries 641 633 648 681 560 425 424 487
per 100,000 566.2 515.3 537.3 554.0 437.6 327.4 323.0 371.8
Thefts 2,556 2,695 2,393 2,613 2,695 2,440 1,975 2,209
per 100,000 2257.8 2194.1 1984.3 2125.7 2105.9 1879.4 1504.7 1686.6
Auto thefts 417 351 318 332 286 277 243 253
per 100,000 368.4 285.8 263.7 270.1 223.5 213.4 185.1 193.2
Arson 15 6 6 8 8 4 7 7
per 100,000 13.3 4.9 5.0 6.5 6.3 3.1 5.3 5.3

City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 306.2) 229.5 217.9 194.2 215.1 197.6 180.6 140.3 163.8
Named the 10th safest city in the U.S in 2006, so this just goes to show you that the nation as a whole is getting more dangerous considering it did not receive such an accolade in 2005, yet the crime rate actually went up.

Crime in Pembroke Pines by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 2 3 3 0 1 6 1
per 100,000 0.0 1.6 2.1 2.1 0.0 0.7 3.9 0.7
Rapes 31 25 14 20 23 23 25 15
per 100,000 26.5 19.5 9.9 13.9 15.4 15.1 16.3 9.8
Robberies 73 94 130 121 132 113 95 134
per 100,000 62.5 73.3 92.2 84.2 88.4 74.2 61.9 87.6
Assaults 186 281 203 234 239 264 227 213
per 100,000 159.1 219.1 144.0 162.8 160.1 173.4 147.9 139.3
Burglaries 686 614 620 675 618 619 743 831
per 100,000 587.0 478.7 439.8 469.7 413.9 406.6 484.1 543.4
Thefts 2,794 2,281 3,470 3,091 3,291 3,221 3,295 3,581
per 100,000 2390.7 1778.3 2461.2 2150.8 2204.0 2115.8 2146.7 2341.8
Auto thefts 603 556 639 607 511 478 433 474
per 100,000 516.0 433.5 453.2 422.4 342.2 314.0 282.1 310.0
Arson 26 9 12 29 40 15 14 15
per 100,000 22.2 7.0 8.5 20.2 26.8 9.9 9.1 9.8
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 311.1) 249.8 223.8 234.1 225.8 215.4 208.6 211.3 219.8

Also in Palm Beach County

Crime in Boca Raton by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 3 1 1 2 1 2 0 3
per 100,000 4.1 1.3 1.3 2.6 1.3 2.5 0.0 3.4
Rapes 8 16 14 11 10 22 15 13
per 100,000 11.0 20.7 18.3 14.1 12.7 27.4 18.8 14.8
Robberies 72 52 65 63 46 82 53 72
per 100,000 99.0 67.4 84.7 80.6 58.4 102.3 66.4 81.7
Assaults 109 141 116 129 118 149 173 150
per 100,000 149.9 182.7 151.2 165.0 149.7 185.8 216.7 170.3
Burglaries 734 742 665 545 597 600 591 551
per 100,000 1009.6 961.5 867.0 697.1 757.3 748.2 740.3 625.5
Thefts 2,029 2,097 1,990 1,927 1,722 2,152 2,071 2,232
per 100,000 2790.9 2717.3 2594.5 2464.7 2184.5 2683.6 2594.2 2533.7
Auto thefts 288 263 188 213 203 256 182 168
per 100,000 396.1 340.8 245.1 272.4 257.5 319.2 228.0 190.7
Arson 3 0 2 2 3 4 16 2
per 100,000 4.1 0.0 2.6 2.6 3.8 5.0 20.0 2.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 314.0) 290.8 279.2 257.0 242.7 221.1 280.0 252.1 237.6

Fairly high traffic, but an decent downtown scene and an upscale vibe.

Crime in Palm Beach Gardens by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 1 4 0 0 1 1 0
per 100,000 0.0 2.7 11.1 0.0 0.0 2.3 2.2 0.0
Rapes 10 6 6 10 6 6 10 7
per 100,000 28.3 16.2 16.7 27.3 15.5 14.0 22.1 14.1
Robberies 34 33 36 51 47 27 37 43
per 100,000 96.2 89.3 100.1 139.1 121.1 63.1 81.7 86.3
Assaults 63 53 61 66 75 69 65 92
per 100,000 178.3 143.4 169.6 180.0 193.2 161.4 143.4 184.7
Burglaries 260 223 350 346 321 335 377 365
per 100,000 735.8 603.4 973.1 943.8 826.8 783.4 832.0 732.7
Thefts 1,530 1,517 1,479 1,285 1,340 1,252 1,319 1,326
per 100,000 4329.7 4104.4 4112.2 3505.1 3451.4 2927.8 2910.7 2661.8
Auto thefts 220 192 151 114 164 176 183 123
per 100,000 622.6 519.5 419.8 311.0 422.4 411.6 403.8 246.9
Arson 4 6 12 3 0 3 4 2
per 100,000 11.3 16.2 33.4 8.2 0.0 7.0 8.8 4.0
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 327.6) 361.7 321.8 365.7 330.7 317.0 272.0 282.2 251.6

[NSX1990]

I find Ft. Lauderdale to be a somewhat cheaper, more compact version of Miami. I lived there for years.

And why fight over statistics? All cities have bad areas, but what else is new? Just don't go there and your exposure to crime will be extremely low. The only thing we ever had happen in my 20+ years of living in South Florida was that our car was broken into at the Town Center mall and some clothes and an empty briefcase were stolen.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by NSX1990

I find Ft. Lauderdale to be a somewhat cheaper, more compact version of Miami. I lived there for years.

And why fight over statistics? All cities have bad areas, but what else is new? Just don't go there and your exposure to crime will be extremely low. The only thing we ever had happen in my 20+ years of living in South Florida was that our car was broken into at the Town Center mall and some clothes and an empty briefcase were stolen.

This is a good point. If you take precautions, you don't become a victim, like any other metro area. The thing is that the OP mentioned the importance of a low crime rate.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by New2FL

I keep listening to the news and almost every day I hear bad things happennings in Ft. Lauderdale. Banks and storesare being burglarized, home invasions are a frequent occurence, people getting shot, etc. What is the cause of all of this? Any one care to elaborate in the causes? What about Miami Dade. Is it any better/worst and why so.

It's not even close. I live in Fort Lauderdale and I won't even go into Miami if I can help it. Before we had an Apple store in Fort Lauderdale, I used to drive to Boca almost 50 miles around trip. I could go to the one in Miami closer but no way. Honestly the last time I was in miami I had to do something regarding my pass port and my wife almost got car jacked while waiting for me. Car jackers are not usually armed but my wife is. One whiff of her action sent the guy packing, he had no idea how close he came to being killed, she just choose not to shoot him.