3/10/2023 - City Crime Rate Lowest in 31 Years

"RIVIERA BEACH’S VIOLENT CRIME RATE IS THE LOWEST IT’S BEEN IN 31 YEARS

RIVIERA BEACH, FL. (March 9, 2023) – The City of Riviera Beach and the Police Department are proud to announce that the preliminary 2022 Uniform Crime Report statistics released to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) show that violent crimes in the City decreased by 23.6% from the previous year. This reduction in crime has led to the lowest number of violent crimes in the past 31 years.

When Joshua Lewis became Interim Police Chief for the Riviera Beach Police Department (RBPD) in 2022, he stated stopping violent crime was his number one priority. Various techniques and strategies were implemented to achieve this goal, such as creating a cold case unit and adding multiple former federal agents in the cold case unit.

“The Department’s Strategic Investigation Division developed specialized investigative teams and provided the advanced training needed to be successful and to improve crime solving,” said Interim Police Chief Joshua Lewis.

The new mindset and direction of the Strategic Investigation Division has led to greater solvability rates. The homicide clearance rate in Riviera Beach for 2022 was 36.4%, and currently sits at 75% for 2023.

Interim Chief Lewis also states that the RBPD has an outstanding relationship with the State Attorney’s Office in Palm Beach County. There is also great cooperation between local and federal law enforcement agencies. Riviera Beach participates in numerous multi-agency task forces, which only strengthens the Department’s crime fighting efforts. The Department’s Active Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Unit provides regular street level presence, which plays a large part in the reduction of violent crime.

The RBPD’s comprehensive effort to reduce the number of violent crimes starts with a seasoned Patrol Division that initially responds to each crime. The ability to bring closure to major crimes is viewed as team approach and begins with initial response and securing the crime scene, as well as, the identification of eyewitnesses and evidence.

“Violent crime is our number one priority. We can’t prevent a crime from happening, but we can hold people accountable,” Lewis said. “We want to a create a safe environment where you can safely live, work, and play.”"

Archives