PANAMA CITY — Within a year, the criminal landscape of Bay County has shifted, and as the summer season arrives, officials in the area hardest hit by homicides last year are hopeful measures taken to prevent similar surges will prevent a relapse.
Bay County experienced an unprecedented spike in murders last year, from eight in 2013 to 17 in 2014 — 15 of which were carried out with firearms; two resulted from bludgeonings with hands or feet. Those figures surpass the closest comparisons in recent history from 2010 and 2011, when 12 people were murdered each year, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) statistics released this month.
The deadliest area within the county was the city of Panama City, accounting for eight murders during its bloodiest summer on the books, FDLE reported. The surge in gun-related deaths prompted the Panama City Police Department to initiate a street crimes unit and community members also organized the LEAD Coalition of parents concerned with the violent outbursts.
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Those efforts have made headway into this year, according to Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki.
“We’re getting out in the community and letting people get to know their policemen,” Brudnicki said. The shootings “spurred us to do something that would hopefully deter something like that from happening again.”
Overall crime rates increased in Bay County by 2.8 percent from last year, FDLE reported. Panama City saw an 11.6 percent increase in all crimes, while Panama City Beach saw a decrease of 8.4 percent. But per capita, the Beach topped all other areas of the county in overall crime rates. PCB Mayor Gayle Oberst said those numbers do not account for surges during high-volume holidays on the Beach.
“We don’t have the same problems as the eastern part of Bay County,” Oberst said. “Especially when you think about the fact we can have about 200,000 people here at a time — we do a good job of handling those situations.”
Panama City Beach Police Department consists of about 55 sworn officers to police their year-round population of about 12,191, or about one officer for every 221 citizens. In Panama City, nearly 130 sworn officers police a year-round population of 35,773. Similarly, that comes out to about one officer for every 275 citizens.
During a holiday weekend, when visitors increase the Beach population to about 200,000 people, Beach Police are outnumbered by a margin of about 3,500 people to every officer, unless reinforcements are enlisted.
Different demographics: Several factors could have contributed to the disparities in crime figures between the counterparts of Bay County, separated only by 0.6-miles that make up the Hathaway Bridge.
The differences are contained in the demographics, Oberst said.
In Panama City, 85.8 percent of people graduated from high school and, of those, 20.9 percent went on to get a bachelor’s degree or higher accreditation, according to census figures. The median household income in Panama City is about $37,993, while 20.2 percent of people are below the poverty line. Home values average at $135,100.
On the Beach, 91.6 percent of people graduated from high school and 23.9 percent graduated from college. Home values are significantly greater at $211,900, and the average household income is $51,459. Only 11.4 percent of people are below the poverty line, census figures state.
Outside of those figures, much of the Beach’s crime Oberst attributed to visitors.
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“We’ve always had the situation where people think they can come down to Florida to run away from something and start over, but it isn’t as easy as that,” she said.
In Panama City’s case, several of the perpetrators in last summer’s shooting deaths originated from elsewhere, but most were Panama City residents. However, in the wake of Panama City’s surge in gun violence, officials and community members have put forth an effort to hopefully keep a similar trend at bay. According to Brudnicki, those efforts have yielded results in the absence in violent crimes this year.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep people safe,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure the public knows the police are their friends — regardless of where they live. All lives matter.”