Right ON. Our population countywide has increased steadily while there seems to have been a smaller number of LEO (county and city) who are on the streets.
Part of that reason must be the difficulty in finding eligible persons who can meet the stringent requirements and pass all the stages in training.
Unfortunately, once an officer does get hired and has passed the probationary period they are often recruited by other agencies in other counties and states due to higher salaries and maybe better benefits.
Hopefully, we’ll have a positive change in the elected sheriff and have someone who can work well with the BoCC as that is where the Taxpayer monies come from for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
DEEP Thanks and Appreciation to each and every one of you who SERVE and Protect We the Citizens of Escambia County and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come each year.
You Deserve MUCH More Respect and Pay than you are getting from the ones making decisions.
May God Bless you and Protect you LEO, EMTs, Fire/Rescue and others and Bless your families and loved ones.
And, Y’all out there in the streets and communities how about you QUIT KILLING EACH OTHER…..

Sorry you got offended. I guess you missed where I said sarcasm. And I comprehend numbers verses population and percentages (rate per 100,000 people).

So I advocate for ignoring “crime rates” and go with actual hard numbers of crimes reported year-to-year, and let the people decide if more means less. More murders as in your example calculates into a lower “crime rate” and therefore, more means less because there are more people now – check. Gotta love bean counters and statisticians; I bet they could sell ice cubes to… well you know. LOL because “…the 48th consecutive year Florida has seen a drop in its crime rate.” Talk about misleading the general public.