ORLANDO, Fla. — The streets of Orange and Osceola counties are becoming a little safer.
According to the medical examiner for the two counties, the number of homicides has declined 30% so far this year, compared to 2020 levels.
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As of early September 2020, there were 119 homicides. There were 85 recorded during the same time span in 2021.
“Last year was an unusually high year for homicides in Orange County,” Sheriff John Mina said. “A number of those homicides were related to some gang violence.”
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Mina explained that his deputies arrested dozens of gang members, many of whom are still in jail. He also credited the decline with increased patrols in traditional problem areas of the county and his department’s effort to get deputies out of patrol cars and interacting with residents.
Orlando’s police chief, Orlando Rolón, also had good news to report earlier this summer, saying summer gun violence had lowered after a targeted effort by his department.
No other area of Central Florida that Eyewitness News received records from saw a similar decline. Medical examiners in Volusia, Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Marion counties reported homicide rates similar to 2020 levels.
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