Public Safety Message from the Mayor

Public safety is the top priority of this administration and the entire Orlando City Council, and we are dedicating substantial additional public resources to protect and serve our citizens. 

For cities across the country, 2006 was marked with a surge in homicides and violent crimes.  We can point to any number of factors for this increase, but one thing is certain, our community will not accept this type of criminal activity.    

Together with Chief Demings and the Orlando Police Department, we are addressing crime from all angles.

We’ve dedicated more than one hundred million dollars to a multi-year Public Safety initiative, putting 75 additional officers on our streets with new police substations. 

We are targeting crime “hot spots” in the City, deploying 3 tactical units that are aggressively and effectively addressing violent crimes. 

We launched an Illegal Gun Bounty program to get illegal firearms off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.

We established the Safe Orlando Task Force with community leaders for recommendations to prevent crime and stop repeat offenders.

We held a Safe Cities Summit with Mayors and Police Chiefs from the 7 largest cities to share best practices to combat violent crime and to work closely with the governor and our legislators to make sure that much-needed changes become a reality.  

We’re dedicating every available resource to ensure the safety of our citizens, but this issue cannot solely rest on the shoulders of the fine men and women of our police department.  We need citizens to get engaged, provide crime-related information and stand up for our community.

We’re aware there isn’t a single answer to address the increased level of criminal activity, however, we will take every opportunity to empower and engage our public safety personnel as well as the citizens of Orlando to reverse this troubling trend.  I encourage using the information contained on this site to assist you and your neighbors become engaged in addressing this communitywide concern.