TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

A Crime Next Door Might Not Reflect A Trend

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today photo illustration

Crime, especially burglaries, has increased the past year. Some people attribute the increase of crime to the growth of the county.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Dan  Fearson | Highlands Today

Published: February 3, 2008

SEBRING — When you live in a neighborhood where a high-profile crime has been committed, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that violent crime is increasing across the county.

But perception isn't always reality.

"I went to the front yard to get my paper in the morning and I saw all sorts of police cars and crime scene tape everywhere," said Sebring Country Estates resident George Bauer. "It made me wonder what was going on."

Bauer was describing the murder of his neighbor, Samuel Tiller, 82, who was found dead from a gunshot wound at his Falcon Avenue home on Nov. 24, 2007.

Tiller's death sent shockwaves through the fairly secluded Sebring Country Estates neighborhood where he lived.

"It made me very uncomfortable," said Bauer, who lives catty-corner to the Tiller home. "I had a rough time sleeping for about two or three weeks."

"I began to think that this could happen to anyone at anytime," said Bauer. "To the best of my knowledge, we've never really had any issues in this neighborhood."

"It was scary owning a home that sits 250 feet away from where someone got murdered," said Bauer. "You just have to tell yourself that wherever you go, this could be an issue. I got over it."

One of Bauer's neighbors, who didn't want to go on the record, still remains in shock over the death three months later. To quote the neighbor, "the neighborhood and the city are going to hell."

"I felt fearful when I heard about the shooting," said the neighbor. "I put a deadbolt lock on my door and motion sensors around my house. I'm thinking about buying a gun."

Three teenage suspects were charged last month with Tiller's murder.

It's a sad state for the neighborhood where most of the streets are named for cars or birds, and features concrete three-bedroom houses and well-maintained lawns.

"Since the shooting, we've been thinking about putting our house on the market," said the neighbor.

Putting his home on the market is not something that Bauer plans on doing anytime soon.

"I've been living in this neighborhood for five years and have no plans on leaving," said Bauer. "I have good neighbors and a wife that enjoys it here."

"You have to use some common sense and tell yourself that it could happen anywhere," said Bauer.

"I still think this is a great street and a great place to live," said Bauer. "I would still recommend this area to any family who was thinking about moving."

If you travel just south of the Sebring Country Estates, you don't hear the same fear sentiments because of crime. It's almost like walking into a totally different environment in an area only blocks away from where Tiller was murdered.

"I haven't really noticed an increase in crime," said Bill Underwood, a Sebring Hills resident. "The only thing I've really noticed is that there seems to be more people in town."

Violent Crimes

If you wanted to spin the numbers you could say that the number of homicides that the Highlands County Sheriff's Office was asked to respond to tripled in 2007.

Statistics provided by the sheriff's office indicate that officials responded to calls involving two homicides in 2006 and the number increased to six in 2007.

But when you compare the homicide number to the 96,672 total residents living in Highlands County in 2007, a number which has increased by nearly 30,000 since 1990, six seems small.

Homicide numbers in the county have increased and decreased every year, but have continuously remained low. In 2003 and 2004, there were four homicides in county. In 2005 there were three.

"When you look strictly at the numbers, our homicide numbers are still really low," said Sheriff Susan Benton. "A slight increase in some crimes here as the population increases should be expected."

"I think that violent crimes are driven a lot of times by the economy," said Benton. "And a lot of people are facing tough times right now."

Keep in mind that these numbers do not include offenses responded to solely by the Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid Police Departments.

The number of robberies that the sheriff's office responded to, which includes home invasions, financial institutions and convenience store holdups and carjackings, actually dropped from 34 in 2006 to 31 in 2007.

Other than homicide, the other violent crime that saw an offense increase from 2006 to 2007 was aggravated battery, which rose from 51 to 61 incidents.

Property Crimes Increase

Burglaries rose from 417 offenses in 2006 to 613 in 2007. Included in the burglary statistics are vehicle burglaries, which rose from 331 offenses in 2006 to 371 in 2007.

Some of the car burglary offenses can be attributed to the rise in car "pfishing," where perpetrators look for cars that are unlocked, allowing them to steal materials inside.

The sheriff's office has issued several public warnings to residents about the "pfishing" trend.

"Our staff works very hard not only at solving crimes, but at implementing programs and practices which can help prevent it," said Benton.

FDLE Municipality Data

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) keeps semi-annual offense report numbers for each municipality in Highlands County. The statistics provided in the reports are broken into six-month time periods. The FDLE has not released data for the second half of 2007.

According to the FDLE, in terms of total violent and non-violent offenses officials responded to between January and June of 2007, offenses investigated by the Sebring Police Department increased by 6.8 percent compared to the same time period in 2006, while offenses investigated the Avon Park Police Department increased 6.3 percent. Offenses investigated by the Lake Placid Police Department decreased 38.6 percent.

Sebring Police Department Cmdr. Steve Carr said that there are a number of reasons why offense numbers have increased including the population rise and the fact that the police department's jurisdiction coverage has grown.

Acting Avon Park Police Chief Michael Rowan called the 6 percent offense increase "nothing that makes me worry."

"A 6 percent increase is not much at all. It's not extravagant and it's not concerning to me," said Rowan. "You have to consider the numbers of solvable crimes our officers have worked on have increased."

Rowan estimated that the number of solvable crimes worked by the APD has increased between "12-18 percent."

"There are a number of different factors that go into the increase, including the economy, population increases, tourism increases and an increase in crimes of opportunity," said Rowan, pointing to the car pfishing trend.

"To be honest with you, I think we've been fortunate," said Lake Placid Police Chief Phil Williams about the offense decrease in Lake Placid. "We do the best policing we can do."

"I think the FDLE statistics can be a bit misleading though, because you can have something major happen which can influence the percentages and throw them off, especially when the numbers aren't high to begin with," said Williams.

National Trends

If you think that violent crimes are increasing nationally, you'd be wrong.

According to FBI statistics, violent crime in the United States decreased by 1.7 percent from January through June 2007, when compared to the same time period in 2006.

Property crimes, including burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, decreased 2.6 percent, during the same six-month time period.

For information about crime statistics you can visit the FDLE Web site at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/ or the FBI Web site at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT