JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Crime is everywhere. It's near where we work, where our kids go to school, and where we live. It can be the single most frightening thing in our community. But just how bad is it where you live?
Channel 4 poured through thousands of numbers and countless crime reports to find out.
In Jacksonville, the Sheriff's Office tracks crime statistics on a mapping program. Channel 4 looked at all the reports of crimes so far this year and were astounded at the sheer number.
More than 3,000 of the crimes reported city-wide could be considered violent, and so far this year police said there have been 83 murders.
Nearly 10 percent of all Florida's murders last year -- 94 -- happened in Duval County. That's the second most in the state only behind Miami-Dade, which recorded an astounding 210 murders.
Other agencies gave Channel 4 their numbers, too. St. Johns County deputies broke them down by sections and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its annual crime report with last year's numbers.
Channel 4 found that in Duval County the crime rate was highest in Jacksonville Beach, at 5.6 percent per capita. Their police also had the lowest number of cases cleared.
The city of Jacksonville had the second highest crime rate last year, at 4.8 percent. Neptune and Atlantic Beaches had the lowest, at 3.3 percent and 2.9 percent.
In St. Johns County, the historic city of St. Augustine led the pack with the highest crime rate at 7.4 percent per capita. That was followed by St. Augustine Beach at 3.2 percent, and all other areas in the county, patrolled by the Sheriff's Office, at 2.3 percent.
The most common crimes reported in the Jacksonville area were car break-ins, petit thefts, home burglaries and assaults. Robberies, carjackings, and assaults where someone was badly hurt, known as aggravated assaults, topped the list of violent crimes.
As part of Project 4, we're not just telling you about the crime in your area, Channel 4 is showing you how cops are trying to prevent it, how the community is stepping up, and how you can keep it from happening to your family.
Each hour all day, Channel 4 will pick a new neighborhood and break down the statistics that matter to you. (Project 4: Tracking crime in your neighborhood)
Channel 4 will get valuable information from police and sheriff's deputies, crime analyst Ken Jefferson, family members of those killed in homicides, and community activists.