October 23, 2023
Researchers from the Center of Criminology and Public Policy Research at Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice recently concluded a study on violent crime in Tallahassee and Leon County, which the Tallahassee Democrat and WFSU News covered.
View the full Democrat article.
The study analyzed homicide and non-fatal shooting cases from both the Tallahassee Police Department and Leon County Sheriff’s Office from June 2019 to June 2023 to examine the extent of gun violence in the area, who is involved, and where it occurred.
As noted by the Democrat and WFSU, the study found that homicide and firearm assault rates have steadily increased over the past 20 years and surpassed the state and comparable county averages. The study also found that crime was not evenly distributed throughout Leon County, with neighborhoods with the highest levels of socioeconomic disadvantage experiencing the highest rates of gun violence. Gun violence impacted roughly 1,255 victims, and 414 known suspects were identified. Of the 733 homicides and shootings examined, the victims and suspects were disproportionately in their late 20s. Based on these findings, the study recommended that Leon County and Tallahassee employ an intervention approach that uses focused deterrence, with some hot spots policing, problem-oriented policing, and community-oriented policing as strategies with the potential for producing the strongest near-term violent crime reduction outcomes for Leon County.