Miami's Mayor and Police Chief will stand at the Liberty Square Community Center this afternoon to announce with a 9% drop last year, overall crime hasn't been this low in more than 50 years.
Chief Jorge Colina says overall there were about 2,000 fewer crimes in 2018 compared to the prior year.
In fact, "We're at numbers back in 1963-64, in that range. Actually less. We weren't able to go back further to see when we were this low in total crimes."
He credits the decrease, in part, to citizen participation and the installation of about 160 cameras in targeted high crime areas.
The only category that saw an increase was in sex assaults, but Colina notes, "we think that's a bi-product of the 'Me Too' movement where women are more likely to come forward now and report that they've been a victim of sexual assault. Which is also a positive thing when you think about it."
Miami-Dade Police is also reporting overall crime was down more than 6% in 2018 with homicides falling 16% and burglaries plunging nearly 25%. It too also saw a slight increase in forcible sex offenses.