Florida

St. Petersburg summary: Over a three year period, 2015-17 data on violent crime reveals:

55% of criminal homicides involved a firearm
2% of sex offenses involved a firearm
36% of robberies involved a firearm
29% of aggravated assaults involved a firearm
** 29% of all violent crimes involved a firearm

Pinellas County summary: Over a 22 year period, 1996-2017 data on violent crime reveals:

55% of murders involved a firearm, a pattern that trended upward during the period
12% of manslaughters involved a firearm; pattern trended downward during a period
1% of forcible sex crimes involved a firearm
32% of robberies involved a firearm
16% of aggravated assaults involved a firearm; pattern trended upward during a period

St. Petersburg Data: 2015-17

	2015	2016	2017	Annual totals/average	% of category
Criminal homicide	17	28	24	69/23
Firearm involved	10	15	13	38/13	55%
Sex offenses	185	122	136	443/148
Firearm involved	3	1	4	8/2.7	2%
Robbery	573	556	499	1628/543
Firearm involved	182	212	195	589/196	36%
Aggravated assault	1126	1029	1187	3342/1114
Firearm involved	329	308	337	974/325	29%

Total violent crimes	1898	1727	1846	5471/1824
Firearm involved	524	535	549	1608/536	29%

Sources:

FL Dept. of Law Enforcement, FL Uniform Crime Reports 2015-17, provided by St. Petersburg Police Department
Centers for Disease Control data by county
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/florida/florida.htm
Centers for Disease Control, Firearm Mortality Data https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
FL Dept. of Law Enforcement, Crime Data by Jurisdiction 1996-2017
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/Data-Statistics/UCR-Offense-Data.aspx
FL Dept. of Law Enforcement Uniform Crime Statistics, Domestic Violence
http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/Data-Statistics/UCR-Domestic-Violence

Facts You Should Know:

Nationwide, suicides account for over 60% of firearm-related deaths.
Suicide is often an impulsive act and guns are a devastatingly effective means of ending one’s life.
Firearms are used in approximately half of all suicides. Between 2015-17 there were 591 suicides in Pinellas County with 52% involving the use of a firearm. Between Jan 1 2013 and June 30 2018, there were 137 suicides involving a firearm in St. Petersburg.

SUICIDE DATA:
Suicides in Pinellas County
5 years between 2012-2016          982 suicide deaths, an average of 196/year
2014                                       195 (17.3 suicides per 100,000 population)
2015                                       199 (18 suicides per 100,000 population)
2016                                       214 (19.6 suicides per 100,000 population)
2017                                       178 (16.9 suicides per 100,000 population)
Summary: Suicides trended upward in the county between 2012-2016 dropping significantly in 2017.
Suicides in Florida
2014               3035 (13.8 suicides per 100,000 population)
2015               3152 (14.5 suicides per 100,000 population)
2016               3122 (14.1 suicides per 100,000 population)
2017               3187 (14.1 suicides per 100,000 population)
Summary: The national age-adjusted suicide rate was 13.5 per 100,000 population
in 2016; in Florida it was 14 per 100,000; in Pinellas County it was 19.6 per 100,000.
Suicide was the 10thleading cause of death in Florida, placing Florida 21st in the nation.

FIREARM DEATH DATA:
Firearm Deaths in Florida
2014               2410
2015               2559
2016               2704
Summary: The firearm death rate in Florida in 2016 was 12.6 per 100,000, higher than the nation’s 11.8 per 100,000 rate.

SUICIDE BY FIREARM DATA:
Suicides by Firearm in St. Petersburg
During the 5.5 years from Jan. 1, 2013 – June 30, 2018, there were 137 suicides by firearms.

Suicides by Firearm in Pinellas County
2015-17 total suicides (see annual data above) 591
2015-17 suicides by firearm                                               307
Summary: 52% of suicides during this 3-year period involved a firearm; this
equates to 8.4 per 100,000 population. (data from www.flhealthcharts.com
under profile of fatal injuries)

Suicides by Firearm in Florida (all data is per 100,000 population)
Year   Rate of firearm death     Rate of suicides % of suicides using firearms
2012 8.01                                        15.52 51.61%
2013 8.0                                           14.95                                        53.51%
2014 7.73                                        15.26 50.66%
2015 8.05                                        15.83                                        50.85%
2016   8.1 14.1 57%
Summary: 53% of suicides during this 5-year period involved a firearm.