FORT MYERS, Fla. — Fort Myers Police Department is reporting an eleven percent drop in crime rates for the city from 2016 to 2020.
Police Chief Derrick Diggs is crediting technology, youth-based programs and fair police training programs for the decrease.
Chief Diggs also believes the pandemic may have had an impact on last year's numbers, which he felt could have been lower.
The effects of the pandemic on jails limited the hold on non-violent offenders, courts were closed and delayed, and prosecutions were delayed. Diggs believes these COVID-related factors had a lot to do with 2020 numbers being higher than he had hoped, especially in regards to property crimes and violent crime.
