Haines City Police Department

Haines City One of Florida’s Safest Cities for 3rd Straight Year

HAINES CITY, Fla. – For the third year in a row, Haines City is among Florida’s safest cities.

As was the case in 2019 and 2020, SafeWise.com listed Haines City as one of the 50 safest cities in Florida for 2021. SafeWise, a publication that focuses on safety trends with crime and products, uses data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to calculate its annual report on the safest cities in the Sunshine State.

“For the hard work of our staff to be recognized now for three years in a row is an honor,” Haines City Police Chief Jim Elensky said. “It’s great to serve a growing, thriving community, but we can’t be complacent. We’ll continue to work with City Manager Deric Feacher and his supportive administration and our supportive City Commission to ensure that we have the technology, equipment and manpower needed to keep this momentum going.”

When it comes to crime numbers, 2020 was a banner year for the Haines City Police Department. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), crime rate in Haines City fell by a staggering 22% in 2020 to just 1,643 crimes per 100,000 residents – the lowest where data was available and likely, the lowest ever.

In addition to overall crime rate falling in 2020, Haines City saw the violent crime rate decrease by 6.4% while the property crime rate fell by 23.5%, according to the UCR. It was the second year in a row that the property crime rate fell by more than 10%.

“When I became chief in 2017, I implemented an intelligence-led policing model that allows us to be proactive instead of reactive,” Elensky added. “We continuously monitor crime trends, examine our suppression strategies and make sure we have our officers in the right place. The results speak for themselves.”

To see the full list of Florida’s 50 safest cities for 2021, visit:

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