TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Leon County commissioners working with local law enforcement leaders met Tuesday to discuss concerning crime statistics.
The workshop focused on how best to use the resources from Tallahassee and the university police forces.
The group has been meeting for months to identify high crime areas and recommended strategies for public safety.
Tallahassee has the highest crime rate in Florida for three years running.The importance of enhanced communications and outreach within the community, especially in neighborhood hot spots, is part of an All-In initiative by the Sheriff's Office.
The uniform crime report is the primary source of data that is used to measure crime and how it changes over the years. The data it provides helps to understand the trends and make decisions based on what is happening in each jurisdiction.
Of the 7 crime categories, property crime has the highest number of occurrences in Tallahassee.
"It's our job as local elected officials to really try to jump in head first, look at the public policy, see what we can do," said John Dailey, the chairmen for Leon County Commission District 3. "This isn't going to happen over night, we get that, but we need to come together as a community and really talk facts and statistics about what's going on."
Statistics show cities with a high volume of transient workers tend to have increased crime rates and this is true in Tallahassee. Thirty percent of people working in town live outside of Leon County.
The Sheriff's Office is hoping to empower the community to better protect themselves and their neighbors by increasing their community outreach and promoting watch participation.
There is some good news however: there has been an overall decrease in total crimes in Tallahassee by 6 percent since programs were created to raise awareness in the community.
