PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Data from the Port St. Lucie Police Department shows violent crime is dropping across the city.
According to the data, in 2022 there were 267 violent crimes, which includes murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.
In 2023, there were 243 violent crimes, a decrease of 9%. So far this year, from January to May, there have been 123.
The revelation comes as Port St. Lucie police arrested a 17-year-old in a shooting at the parking garage in Tradition Square.
Assistant Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said a group of teens got in an argument on the evening of May 28. A teenager pulled out a gun and shot the pavement.
Niemczyk said the bullet ricocheted and hit a 16-year-old teen in the foot.
The shooting in the popular parking garage comes just six months after a 27-year-old was shot on Southwest Stockton Place in the Town Park neighborhood of Tradition on Dec.13, rattling the community known for a lack of crime.
At the time, it prompted concern from residents that growth in the area was contributing to a decrease in public safety.
WPTV reporter Kate Hussey took a look at the most recent violent crime incidents throughout the city and found that of the six most notable, four occurred in Tradition or the surrounding area while two took place in eastern Port St. Lucie.
Even though crime overall is dropping, Niemczyk said officers are stepping up their response in that area.
"In that area specifically, we've increased patrols quite a bit," Niemczyk said. "In the last year, we implemented District 5, which is 24 police officers and six supervisors that now specifically work that area of the city, and since the shooting you mentioned in Stockton Place we implemented bicycle patrols as well. We just want our presence known and felt in the community."
According to WPTV's analysis of data, almost all of the most recent violent crimes were either targeted or domestic, with the exception of a carjacking and armed robbery at the Publix Supermarket off Becker Road in May 2023.
The only recent violent crime incident that resulted in a fatality was the abduction and later, murder/suicide of a beloved Port St. Lucie teacher.
Niemczyk said the drop in violent crime is proof the changes the department has made over the past year are working.
He also said the department's goal is to continue to get that rate dropping, which means the department is constantly evaluating its responses and how it can improve.
