Although more than 8,000 people moved to Lee County, fewer people dialed 911 compared to the previous year, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
“Burglaries are down, motor vehicle thefts are down,” Marceno said. As of 2024, Lee County’s population was 840,698.
Marceno said that last year they had 500 fewer people reporting victims of crime, “which is another big thing.”
“We’re actually polar opposite from where we were before, years back,” Marceno said. “I mean, we had violent crime, we had a very low solve rate in homicides… it was more than the national average… but it was still low.”
Violent crime in Lee County saw a 3.16% increase, while nonviolent crime saw an 11.74% decrease, according to the data.
Violent crimes include homicides, robberies, sexual assaults and aggravated assaults, while nonviolent crimes include burglary, shoplifting and pocket-picking.
Lt. Sarah Rodriguez, sheriff’s spokesperson, said in June 17 emailed statement that the largest contributor to the increase in violent crime was aggravated assault, which rose by 25 cases and accounted for nearly two-thirds of the overall increase.
Rodriguez said homicides increased to 13 cases from nine.
“However, it is important to note that several of these incidents were murder-suicides or domestic-related cases, rather than random or opportunistic acts that would typically raise broader public-safety concerns,” Rodriguez wrote.
Rodriguez said robberies also “increased modestly, rising by four cases compared with the previous year.”
“Overall, the increase in violent crime was driven primarily by higher numbers of aggravated assaults, along with smaller increases in robberies and homicides compared with the prior year,” Rodriguez explained.
Overall, with the increase in population, Lee County’s crime rate decreased by more than 10%.
The sheriff’s office has approximately 1,600 sworn law enforcement personnel and civilians support staff. The number has continuously increased in the past four years, according to data the sheriff’s office has provided throughout separate requests since 2022.
What are the most impacted areas?
Marceno said Lehigh Acres continues to be a focal point. Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Sanibel each have their own police departments.
The sheriff’s office patrols unincorporated Lehigh Acres, Bonita Springs, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Estero, while also assisting the three police departments in their jurisdictions.
“We do have our areas that we still address all the time,” Marceno said. “We know Lehigh [Acres] can be challenging… it’s very spread out, and we do see a sporadic crime here and there.”
Rodriguez explained that one of their six districts, called precincts, experienced an increase in violent crimes despite the overall crime decline. The precinct Rodriguez pointed out covers Lehigh Acres.
Aggravated assaults account for most of the increase, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that crimes that are most commonly reported in Lehigh Acres have all decreased, which include general theft, vehicle theft and burglary.
“With regards to population, there were fewer reported offenses even though more people were living in the county,” Rodriguez said.
Lehigh Acres’ population is estimated to be approximately 132,353 in 2024 and 134,336 last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
In numbers: Lee County homicides in the past years
While burglary and fraud arrests saw a significant decrease in 2025 compared to 2024 throughout the county, last year the sheriff’s office reports 13 homicides compared to nine in 2024.
Marceno said that of the 13 homicides, they have made arrests in 12 of the cases and the pending case is 94% solved, pending DNA results.
Which crimes lead the charts in Lee County?
“It could be the violent crime area that we want to really focus on,” Marceno said. “Of course, violent crimes… we want to stop them completely, but we’re always looking, analyzing, looking at the data… coming in, looking at the hot spots in the county.”
Marceno said domestic disputes are also prevalent in Lee County.
In response to a public records request, the sheriff’s office on June 17 released additional data and said that in 2024 they responded to 1,686 calls for service listed as domestic violence, “however the call type may have changed once deputies arrived and spoke with all parties involved.”
In 2025, they responded to 2,056 calls listed as domestic violence.
As for battery arrests, the sheriff’s office reports that in 2024 they made 78 arrests, compared to 114 arrests last year.
“We do see at times some spikes in domestic violence,” Marceno said, later adding “that’s something that we do the best we can to monitor.”
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@usatodayco.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee County crime rate decreases, but Lehigh Acres a ‘focal point’
Reporting by Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
