Crime in Sanford, Florida

Sanford's crime rate

There were 2,624 crimes reported in Sanford, Florida in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 4,313 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Sanford compare?

Sanford has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Sanford's overall crime rate is 71% higher than the overall crime rate in Florida. Statewide, there were 542,116 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,524 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Sanford, however, property crimes account for only about 81% of all offenses.

Despite accounting for a smaller than average share of total offenses, property crime is more prevalent in Sanford than it is nationwide. There were 2,127 property crimes in Sanford in 2019, or 3,496 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Sanford. There were 1,689 larcenies reported in Sanford in 2019, or 2,776 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 315 break-ins reported in Sanford in 2019, or 518 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Sanford, meanwhile, there were 123 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 202 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Sanford, however, violent offenses account for a larger 19% share of all reported crime.

At 817 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Sanford is well above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Sanford reported a total of 497 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Sanford. There were 317 aggravated assaults reported in Sanford in 2019, or 521 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is far lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 116 robberies reported in Sanford in 2019, a rate of 191 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 62 rapes reported in Sanford in 2019, or 102 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There were 2 homicides committed in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Sanford is 3.3 murders for every 100,000 people, lower than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Sanford compared to other cities in Florida

Sanford has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in Florida. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

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