LEON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — The Leon County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Florida Sheriff's Association, has released the “Anatomy of a Homicide Project,” which is a review of the data related to the 141 homicides that occurred from 2015 to 2020 in Tallahassee and Leon County.
This report was compiled using the Uniform Crime Report Supplemental Homicide Reports (2015-2020), LCSO investigative reports, Tallahassee Police Department homicide data (2017-2020), Leon County Justice Information System, Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX), Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit, Corrections Integrated Needs Assessment System (CINAS-Lite) Assessment reports and open-source data.
It was found that the 32304 zip code was most heavily affected, with 35% of the homicides occurring within that area, 24% of victims living there and 12% of the offenders residing there.
Firearms were three times more likely to be used than all other weapon types combined. Black males used firearms in 79% of crimes committed as opposed to 45% use among white males. In 35% of these cases, the firearm had not been legally obtained.
Thirty-three percent of these homicides occurred while another crime, such as robbery or a drug deal, was taking place.
It was found that the majority of both victims and offenders were young black males. Eighty-one of the 108 victims and 86 of the 125 offenders were black males. Forty-one percent of these fell into the 15-24 age group.
When evaluating the histories of both offenders and victims, it was found that 84% of offenders and 52% of victims had previous charges.
After outlining what all the data has shown, LCSO closed by stating its recommendations for how to remedy some of the prominent issues.
The department will develop a plan to address the problems and implement those strategies once created.
In the meantime, LCSO will continue its work with several different programs to reduce violence.
“Communities all throughout the county are working to solve the problems of violence and there is no magic solution. While we may not be able to fully eradicate violence like a disease, there is evidence to support prevention, reduction, and mitigation of violence is possible. Facing the challenge is overwhelming and solving a problem of this complexity requires focus, the dedication of specific resources (people, time, money, tools, etc.), and rigorous and continuous measurement and assessment. The path to success requires a unified ALLinLEON response of people, agencies, and organizations working collaboratively to reduce violence in Leon County,” the department stated in its closing.
The department released both the full 90-page report and a summary of key elements, both of which can be found below.
