Statewide Statistics for 2009

Law enforcement agencies from 60 of Florida’s 67 counties participated in this survey effort. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the 341 law enforcement agencies within those 60 counties participated in the survey assessment. Of the approximately 356 local law enforcement agencies in the state, 72 % contributed information to this assessment.

The accuracy of gang intelligence assessments depends upon the precision of field officers’documentation efforts and crime analysts’ reporting efforts. As gang intelligence documentation and reporting procedures are becoming more uniform around the state, data integrity will improve. It is too early to tell whether these recent findings indicate a downward trend or a more accurate count. As statewide assessments continue to be conducted annually in September, trend patterns will emerge, providing a better sense of the extent of the gang problem in Florida.