Crime in SW Fl - Ft Myers, Cape Coral . . . (Fort Myers: insurance, low crime)

[JSGOOFN]

You guys are scaring me! I thought I wanted to move to Cape Coral or Ft Myers. I know that crime stats are not always truly reflective of a community, but from the postings, it seems as though Ft Myers is so crime-ridden it is a wonder anyone wants to live there! I worked with the Ft Laud Police Dept and saw that most of the crimes were property related. Car break-ins were the most common followed by home break-ins and lots and lots of fraud (insurance, identity theft, etc.) The car break-ins were usually because the owner left all sorts of items in view, such as laptop computers, PDAs, Ipods, purses, cash, etc., so that any bad guy walking through a parking lot could get a good collection of goodies to sell for drugs or whatever. Common sense would prevent most of these crimes. Very little in the way of violent crime. Are Ft Myers and Cape Coral considered a violent crime area? Is it mostly drug related? I sure hope I am making the right decision

[SouthFloridaNative]

It's no worse than anywhere else. There are good areas and bad areas. I know the local news covers updates on the same stories over and over, day after day, week after week, so it may seem like it's horrible but it's the same ole' stories.

[firemed]

Cape Coral just had one of the City Council arrested on a felony charge. The best way to know how bad the crime is. Just read the news press and the TV stations in the area online. NBC-2, abc-7, WFTX Fox-4, WINK TV, I for one can say the crime in Cape Coral / Ft. Myers is off the charts. I get to see the bad stuff first hand. Realestate Jockeys try to paint a rosey picture. Lets just put it this way 109% increase in the last year. Murders are way up in those numbers. But the good new is the staff from Court TV has been here alot spending money.

[V20]

Originally Posted by firemed

Cape Coral just had one of the City Council arrested on a felony charge. The best way to know how bad the crime is. Just read the news press and the TV stations in the area online. NBC-2, abc-7, WFTX Fox-4, WINK TV, I for one can say the crime in Cape Coral / Ft. Myers is off the charts. I get to see the bad stuff first hand. Realestate Jockeys try to paint a rosey picture. Lets just put it this way 109% increase in the last year. Murders are way up in those numbers. But the good new is the staff from Court TV has been here alot spending money.

How many murders in Cape Coral last year? 100, 200? I know that there were 5 murders in Cape Coral in 2004, which placed it at the third safest city in Florida. So I am interested in the tremendous spike in crime that you speak of. Of course since 2004 there are an additional 33,000 people in Cape Coral. But please let me know the exact number of murders in 2006. I am very interested. Also the city council member being arrested for a felony - Operating as a Broker without a License - is a clear example of how incredibly dangerous crime in Cape Coral is becoming. At this rate some vicious criminal will not return his library books on time.

[firemed]

Do you read the news? Violent crimes are up also. Does Cape Coral have a gang problem ? Third safest City. Please show me where you found this. Cape Coral white collar crime is way off the charts also. But I guess that doesn't count
if your in the "investment profession".

LEE COUNTY: A tragic record has been set in Lee County. A new report shows more murders were committed in Lee County in 2006 than in any year in the county's history.
Moderator cut: Provide a link instead of copying everything here, please

[firemed]

Originally Posted by JSGOOFN

You guys are scaring me! I thought I wanted to move to Cape Coral or Ft Myers. I know that crime stats are not always truly reflective of a community, but from the postings, it seems as though Ft Myers is so crime-ridden it is a wonder anyone wants to live there! I worked with the Ft Laud Police Dept and saw that most of the crimes were property related. Car break-ins were the most common followed by home break-ins and lots and lots of fraud (insurance, identity theft, etc.) The car break-ins were usually because the owner left all sorts of items in view, such as laptop computers, PDAs, Ipods, purses, cash, etc., so that any bad guy walking through a parking lot could get a good collection of goodies to sell for drugs or whatever. Common sense would prevent most of these crimes. Very little in the way of violent crime. Are Ft Myers and Cape Coral considered a violent crime area? Is it mostly drug related? I sure hope I am making the right decision

As far as drugs Cape Coral had 27 grow houses busted last year and this year had three already. What do you think.

[Edvard]

it's not so much what the news reports, it's what they DON'T report, and many cities in Florida have a carefully engineered press black-out to avoid scaring off tourism dollars.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Edvard

it's not so much what the news reports, it's what they DON'T report, and many cities in Florida have a carefully engineered press black-out to avoid scaring off tourism dollars.

Extremely true.

Lee County is a prime example of unplanned growth run amok, but pull up the area's websites and you would think it was paradise.

I always found it interesting that once Fort Myers PD got to police Dunbar, arrests went way up in the area. They started running roadblocks right in front of drug houses. Lee County doesn't bother. Instead of doing something about Pine Manor, they love handing out tickets. I think it is just revenue driven, coupled with laziness.

When we left in October of '05, Cape Coral had already had quite a few grow house busts and Lehigh Acres was beginning to see gangs. Gangs. Can you believe it? That community that was started as a land scam in the middle of nowhere is now crime-ridden. I think it got that way because it was the last place left in Lee County that had affordable housing.

Paradise?

You can still find it on Sanibel and Captiva. They got smart and now charge $6 to get across the bridge.

[V20]

Originally Posted by firemed

Do you read the news? Violent crimes are up also. Does Cape Coral have a gang problem ? Third safest City. Please show me where you found this. Cape Coral white collar crime is way off the charts also. But I guess that doesn't count
if your in the "investment profession".

LEE COUNTY: A tragic record has been set in Lee County. A new report shows more murders were committed in Lee County in 2006 than in any year in the county's history.

Are there more people in Lee County now than in any year in the county's history?

Cape Coral - 3rd safest city in Florida over 100,000 population (2005):
http://www.capecoral.net/citydept/police/pol_crindex.cfm (broken link)

Your article shows that Lee County has had an increase in murders. But you have still not answered my question regarding the murders in Cape Coral.

The crime in Fort Myers may be off the charts, but I have no intention of moving to Fort Myers. You state that the murder rate in Cape Coral/Fort Myers has gone "Way up". I'll give you that the murder rate in Fort Myers has gone up, but what about Cape Coral. How many murders occured in Cape Coral in 2006 versus 2005, 2004?

Dunbar in Fort Myers is no Cape Coral. And Major Jeff Taylor states in your quoted article that violence is on the rise nationwide. As I have said in previous posts, the increase in crime is a societal problem, not one limited to Lee County or Florida.

There are many reasons that I wish to relocate to Cape Coral from Cape Cod. Rising crime, drugs, gangs and terrible schools - Its happening in Cape Cod at an alarming rate! Where can one move where there is low crime, no drugs, awesome schools and a great lifestyle (warm weather, boating, fishing, beaches)? Some would like the desolation of northern New England or the crazy hecticness of New York City or LA. I want neither. I would like a middle ground. Cape Coral certainly seems to be a good and rare choice.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by V20

There are many reasons that I wish to relocate to Cape Coral from Cape Cod.

I was born and raised in Massachusetts. Lived there 34 years. Do you already own in Cape Coral?