In 2023, Sarasota did not record a homicide for the first time since the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration, the Sarasota Police Department announced at Monday’s City Commission meeting.

The decrease from 7 homicides in 2022 was in line with a 16% decrease in “Part 1 Crimes,” which include aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, rape, and robbery. SPD representatives credited the reduction in this type of crime – the city’s largest since 1999 – to proactive policing.

Police officials shared the statistics as part of a crime prevention presentation at City Hall, with the centerpiece being that for the first time since 1967, the city did not experience a single homicide.

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Chief Rex Troche told commissioners the agency saw an increase in productivity because of a positive work culture and more personnel. Arrests, summonses and total charges all rose in 2023. Drug arrests more than doubled, with more than 1,000.

“All of those have increased, as you can see by the numbers, so that is really awesome,” Troche said. “You’re seeing the crime go down, and the work go up.”

However, Sarasota’s statistics also tracked national urban trends of a general decrease in violent crime since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across 32 cities, homicides fell by 10% from 2022 to 2023, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. Aggravated assault and burglary fell by 3%, larceny fell by 4%, and robbery, the only crime statistic in Sarasota to remain flat, rose 1% nationally.

Troche also credited SPD recruiters for hiring more experienced officers, which he said contributed to the department’s morale and professionalism.

City officials lauded the agency at Monday’s meeting. Commissioner Eric Arroyo asked what strategies most effectively achieved “that remarkable outcome.”

Troche credited what he called “qualitative and quantitative factors” – community partnerships and department operations along with a data-driven approach on where to focus resources.

“We started using the data and focusing on those areas, those hotspots,” Troche said. “People knew they could not come to Sarasota and commit a crime without being caught.”

Touche did not specify those hotspots’ locations. Capt. Robert Armstrong, SPD’s patrol division commander, said the department looks at crime data daily to determine where to deploy officers for their shifts.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota police report drop in violent crime, zero homicides last year