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Florida
College crime surging back to pre-COVID levels. Here’s the crime at Florida colleges, universities
Liberty University accused of making it ‘impossible’ to report rape
A lawsuit is alleging that Liberty University made it essentially ‘impossible’ for students to report incidents of rape and sexual assault.
New York Post
Not everything back to normal after the pandemic is good. Campus crime has risen back up, too.
Government data shows the number of crimes reported on college campuses around the U.S. surged back up to pre-pandemic levels by 2022. Crime reported from nearly 6,000 institutions rose about 8% from 2019, even though enrollments dipped during the same period.
Experts see little reason to worry and say the numbers are largely consistent with what colleges have been experiencing since 2013, according to S. Daniel Carter, president of the consulting firm Safety Advisors for Educational Campuses.
Which Florida college or university saw the most crime in 2022?
The University of Florida in Gainesville topped the charts with 183 total crimes reported in 2022, up from 117 in 2021. That’s the highest it’s been in the last decade.
Some of the crimes included 17 rape reports, 38 reports of aggravated assault, 31 reports of burglary, and 83 reports of motor vehicle theft, according to data.
UF had 55,211 students enrolled in 2022. In comparison, Florida State University, with 44,161 students enrolled, had 74 crimes reported in 2022.
Crimes on college and university campuses in Florida
Here’s how Florida campuses are doing. Below are some of the major colleges and universities in Florida and the crimes reported in 2022. Click on USA TODAY’s Crimes on Campus tool below for detailed information or to search crimes on more than 10,000 college and university campuses.
Don’t see a map? Click here.
- Criminal offenses: 6
- Violence against women: 14
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 3
- Violence against women: 0
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 3
- Violence against women: 0
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 3
- Violence against women: 7
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 6
- Violence against women: 0
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 11
- Violence against women: 8
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 39
- Violence against women: 11
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 14
- Violence against women: 2
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 22
- Violence against women: 42
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 2
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 3
- Violence against women: 2
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 1
- Violence against women: 0
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 74
- Violence against women: 18
- Hate crime: 3
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 6
- Violence against women: 2
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 1
- Violence against women: 0
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 7
- Violence against women: 2
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
Stetson University (DeLand)
- Criminal offenses: 8
- Violence against women: 3
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 1
- Violence against women: 1
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 4
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 46
- Violence against women: 49
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 6
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 183
- Violence against women: 105
- Hate crime: 1
- Unfounded crimes: 4
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 23
- Violence against women: 9
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 2
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 41
- Violence against women: 18
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 4
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 22
- Violence against women: 21
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
- Criminal offenses: 5
- Violence against women: 3
- Hate crime: 0
- Unfounded crimes: 0
Click here for breakdown, previous years
Suhail Bhat and Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, contributed to this story.
Port St. Lucie ranked No. 147 among 182 cities in the United States for places to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
Port St. Lucie ranked among the best places in the United States to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
The free personal finance website compared 182 cities in the United States to find the best and worst places to raise a family in 2026.
The website scored cities based on these criteria:
- Family fun
- Health and safety
- Education and child care
- Affordability
- Socio-economics
Port St. Lucie ranks for best places to raise a family
The rankings range from 1 to 182, with 1 being the best.
- Family fun rank: 179
- Health and safety rank: 40
- Education and child care rank: 160
- Affordability rank: 135
- Socioeconomics rank: 70
- Playgrounds per capita: 101
- Violent-crime per capita: 4
- Overall rank: 147
Top-ranked Florida cities to raise a family
- 49. Orlando
- 59. Tampa
- 60. Pembroke Pines
- 63. St. Petersburg
- 117. Jacksonville
- 123. Tallahassee
- 133. Cape Coral
- 147. Port St. Lucie
- 163. Miami
- 166. Fort Lauderdale
- 173. Hialeah
Best places to raise a family in 2026
- 1. Fremont, California
- 2. Overland Park, Kansas
- 3. Irvine, California
- 4. Plano, Texas
- 5. Columbia, Maryland
- 6. Bismarck, North Dakota
- 7. South Burlington, Vermont
- 8. Charleston, South Carolina
- 9. Seattle, Washington
- 10. Boise, Idaho
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
As Florida debates property tax relief, a local official analyzed the potential impact on South Florida
Florida homeowners who have been lobbying for property tax relief may be closer to receiving it with a newly filed bill in Tallahassee.
Joseph Zamb, who works in real estate, said the ultimate goal should be to eliminate property taxes entirely for homesteaded properties. He believes this step would benefit both investors and homeowners.
“I think that the next step for South Florida, all of Florida, is to completely eliminate property taxes,” Zamb said. “You need to get the American dream back, buy a house, and not have to constantly be paying, paying, paying”.
The official bill calls for a $150,000 homestead exemption in 2027, followed by a $250,000 exemption in 2028. The legislature would then be tasked with creating a long-term plan for the following years.
Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar analyzed the potential impact based on 2025 property values. Kiar found that with the $150,000 exemption, the 425,000 homesteaded property owners in Broward would save about $2,100. However, this exemption would mean the county loses $195 million, and schools are down by $294 million. Kiar noted that the current version of the bill does not include a carve-out for schools.
“Whatever city you live in will depend on the loss of revenue to your city, based on how many homesteaded properties there are, how many commercial properties there are,” Kiar said.
The legislature is scheduled to hash out the details next week during a special session. If the bill passes, it would be presented to voters as a constitutional amendment for approval or rejection.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the most consequential vote that anybody is going to make if anything’s on the ballot in November, because it could potentially change the way things are done,” Kiar said.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
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