FLORIDA'S STILL TOO VIOLENT

Gov. Jeb Bush soured some encouraging news on crime by throwing a bone
to Floridians who think our streets are the Wild West. Bush credited
gun owners recently for helping to curb serious crime in Florida.
"Law- abiding citizens who have guns for protection are actually part
of the reason we have a lower crime rate," the governor said. Police
and prosecutors must have cringed.

Serious crime has been dropping in Florida for 14 straight years, long
before Bush and the Legislature imposed tougher criminal sentences and
passed a law allowing people to use deadly force if they feel
threatened. Having crime at a 35-year low is good news enough. The
governor didn't need to spin it to mislead the public. Violent crime,
after all, is lower nationwide than it was in the 1970s, thanks to
better policing, antipoverty programs and a growing population that
divides the number of crimes among more people.

The real news is that Florida remains a violent place. While the
violent crime rate dropped, it was by only 0.6 percent. The number of
violent crimes - murder, sex offenses, robbery and aggravated assault
- - rose 1.7 percent in 2005. There were more violent crimes in Florida
last year than at any time since 2002. In Tampa, rape, drug offenses
and weapons violations were up. So, too, were murders in St.
Petersburg, from 19 in 2004 to 30 in 2005. In Central Florida, every
county except Volusia saw its crime rate climb.

The point is this: A few more crimes or a few less, especially in
small places, can throw the larger picture out of whack. Rather than
play the numbers game, officials should focus on crimes and areas that
need attention from law enforcement. Floridians packing guns don't
need encouragement. At least five who have used deadly force since
Florida adopted its "Stand Your Ground" law have been charged with
crimes the governor thinks gun owners are preventing.