VOLUSIA CRIME RATE SPIKE HIGHEST IN FLORIDA

DELAND -- The burglars that hit Benigno Lopez's home north of DeLand
this week took their time rifling through his things, even drinking a
couple of beers.

The burglary Tuesday isn't surprising in the wake of a report this
week that Volusia County posted the largest crime rate increase -- 7.5
percent -- of all 67 counties in Florida between 2005 and 2006.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's annual
Uniform Crime Report, the increase was driven by a spike in property
crimes -- burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts. And no
Volusia city of more than 3,000 residents posted a larger crime rate
increase than DeLand.

Losing the beer is the least of Lopez's worries. What concerns him
more is his suspicion that burglars who broke into his car several
times worked up the courage to violate his home at 3580 Jerathan Drive.

""I am no longer tranquil and my sense of security is gone," he
said.

Lopez's concern is shared by chiefs of several police departments in
cities where property crimes increased.

DeLand's crime rate increased 31.6 percent between 2005 and 2006.
Burglaries increased from 305 to 645, while motor vehicle thefts
jumped from 101 to 156. Last year's crime-rate increase followed a
25.9 percent increase between 2004 and 2005.

The crime rate is calculated by dividing an area's total number of
crimes by its population, and multiplying that figure by 100,000.
DeLand, with an estimated population of 26,536, logged 2,302 crimes in
2006.

DeLand Police Chief Ed Overman attributed the spike to population
growth, high poverty rates and "financial problems" among residents,
and an understaffed police department.

"The job market is slow. When people don't have money, some people
steal," he said.

The department had as many as 11 job vacancies in 2005, which it
filled gradually over the next 1 1/2 years. "We did not have enough
human resources so we did not have the flexibility to handle all the
calls," Overman said.

Overman says he's seeing results from a joint task force formed in
October with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. "It's a partnership
where we hit the hot spots and remove as many people from the streets
as we can," he said.

Between January and June 27, the city has logged 754 of the crimes
measured in the FDLE reports, putting it on pace for a 35 percent
decrease if the trend holds through the end of 2007, he said.

South Daytona's crime rate increased by a similar amount -- 27.8
percent -- between 2005 and 2006. "I am not happy with what I am
seeing and with my department's clearance rates in the report," South
Daytona Police Chief Bill Hall said. "It does not mean our guys are
not working, but our fine officers are doing their best with the
resources they have, given the circumstances."

Not all law enforcement agencies reported steep crime-rate
increases.

The rate rose just 1.1 percent in the area patrolled by the Volusia
County Sheriff's Office -- the unincorporated area of the county plus
Deltona, DeBary, Pierson, Seville and DeLeon Springs, while Daytona
Beach's crime rate increased by just 2.3 percent.

Still, burglaries increased in the Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction by
298, to 1,624.

Sheriff Ben Johnson credited the small overall crime increase to his
department's strategy of aggressively responding to robbery and
burglary calls.

"We know what the people are doing and where they are going and we are
trying very hard to catch these individuals," Johnson said.

As an example, Johnson cited how fast deputies responded to a robbery
call at a Deltona convenience store Wednesday morning. Sheriff patrol
deputies, police dogs and a helicopter saturated the area and found
the suspect hiding in nearby bushes, Johnson said.

Similarly, Daytona Beach police, who fielded 216 more burglary calls
in 2006, have formed a "Property Crime Squad" that deals solely with
burglaries, Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.

These seven investigators use innovative resources, including software
that tracks items posted for auction on eBay, to track burglars,
Chitwood said.

Although murders, aggravated assaults and forcible rapes are down, the
property crime increase is troubling, Johnson said.

"A robbery is one of those volatile crimes that can go bad very
quickly," he said.

South Daytona plans to combat property crime with new bicycle patrols
beginning Monday and its citizens observer patrol program will be more
visible in the city, Chief Hall said.

Lopez would like to see more police patrols in DeLand during the day
when residents are away working.

"It will help a lot because one comes home and does not expect to see
it ransacked,"