How do I find the safest places to live in Florida?

The department's FIBRS web page, for the Florida Incident-Based Reporting System, shows offenses that sheriff's offices and police departments reported from 2021 to the present. Some sheriff's offices and police departments also post their own yearly crime reports on their websites, and the agency that covers the place you are considering can answer questions about its figures.

Look at several years for the same place rather than a single year, and compare a place with similar places. Figures are updated as cases move forward. Since 2021, more than one offense in an incident can be counted, not only the most serious one, so newer totals cannot be compared directly with older ones.

Be careful with lists that rank cities. The FBI discourages using crime data to rank cities without context. Crime rates do not account for differences in how communities report crime or how agencies classify offenses, and a rate per resident can mislead in places with many tourists, commuters or seasonal residents, because the rate assumes residents are the only people at risk.

For a neighborhood, the department's Sexual Offender and Predator search, a database of public record information on people classified as sexual offenders and sexual predators, includes a Neighborhood Search. Its Offender Registry Services Bureau takes questions toll-free at 1-888-357-7332.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is the state agency in Tallahassee that collects crime reports from Florida's law enforcement agencies. Its headquarters number is 850-410-7000.

Where to go from here.