In a Town-Crier article two weeks ago, Capt. Ulrich Naujoks of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 9 (Royal Palm Beach) presented the latest crime statistics which showed that the crime index in Royal Palm Beach had fallen for the fifth consecutive year. More good news, home burglaries plummeted from 61 in 2017 to 24 in 2018. Vehicle theft dropped from 61 to 45, and aggravated assaults fell from 51 to 43 incidents. Additionally, the Palm Beach Post, also reported that “crime is down in Royal Palm Beach.” The Village of Royal Palm Beach is a very safe place to live, said Capt. Naujoks, noting that of the two homicides, one was domestic violence, and the other was a targeted homicide. “A lot of the crimes we are encountering have to do with people leaving their cars unlocked,” he said.
Village Manager Ray Liggins compared Royal Palm Beach to other Florida cities. “This report places Royal Palm Beach in the safest top 10 percent of municipalities in Florida,” he noted.
Software engineer Nathaniel Wood did lots of homework before buying recently in Royal Palm Beach’s BellaSera community. He said his research about crime rates in Royal Palm Beach surprised him. “I had a negative impression of Royal Palm Beach while growing up nearby but, statistically, it is a very safe place to live,” he said. “I found that out after I ran my own report from the Census Bureau and Florida Department of Law Enforcement web site.”
Wood went on to say that he really does think that crime is a problem that everyone is responsible for helping to reduce, but that sensationalizing it on social media creates emotionally charged reactions and decisions. “All things considered, RPB is a safe community to live in,” he said.
It has been insinuated that both the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the Royal Palm Beach manager are perhaps “manipulating the reported statistics for the past years,” which is totally ridiculous and untrue.
We can rely on the many years of actual statistics of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the dedicated, proven officials of Royal Palm Beach.
Vinnie Perrin, Royal Palm Beach
