How safe is Key Biscayne? Well, there’s hardly any place in Florida much safer.
According to statistical data released earlier this year — based on crimes in the FBI’s 2024 City Agency Report — the Village ranks third among all Florida cities on the Safest Cities list.
What’s even more impressive is that the “Safest Cities in Florida Guide,” compiled by home security innovator Eufy, also includes risks from hurricanes and floods, meaning that Key Biscayne’s low scores for those risks are greatly offset by strong police protection.
“I love hearing about these types of (analyses),” Key Biscayne Police Chief Frank Sousa said. “I think this is great for our residents, great for property values, and why so many people want to live in Key Biscayne.”
According to the report, there were 119 reported crime cases, 111 of those property crimes, and only eight violent crimes in 2024.
“The hurricane and flood risk in Key Biscayne is exceptionally high,” the report said.
“We are very vulnerable where we are at,” Sousa conceded.
In 2024, Key Biscayne Police made 129 arrests and fielded 46,160 calls when the Village population stood at 14,306.
Sousa pointed to some “staggering” numbers that year, including a 33% reduction in overall crime from 2023, a 73% increase in traffic tickets and a 42% decrease in motor vehicle thefts.
“You don’t see that in many police departments, if at all, so it was a great year,” Sousa said when announcing those statistics in March of 2025.
Recently, Sousa delivered the department’s Annual Police Report for 2025, showing equally impressive decreases in arrests (66) and total crime index incidents (87). Also, the 63 recorded larcenies were actually down from the 101 in 2024, and motor vehicle thefts were also down, from 21 to 14. Traffic citations, meanwhile, increased 42% from 2024 to 2025.
“We are a safe and secure community and we do a very good job working with our partners,” said Sousa, referring to the City of Miami Police and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department, for example. “We’ve shown the presence and visibility to deter crime.”
The Safest Cities list, compiled from various trusted sources, including the 2024 FBI CDE (Crime Data Explorer) City Agency Report and the U.S. Census Bureau’s storm risk factor is based on: violent crime cases, property crime cases, and hurricane and flood risk.
According to the report, “Florida is generally safe in terms of crime rates. In 2024, for every 100,000 people, there were 267 violent crimes and 1,420 property crimes. Compared to the U.S. average, the violent crime rate in 2024 in Florida was 25.6% lower, and its rate of property crime was 19.3% lower.”
The safest city in Florida was listed as Marco Island, with only 77 reported cases of crime. No. 2 on the list was North Palm Beach, followed by Key Biscayne, Safety Harbor, Wildwood, Parkland, Oviedo, Weston, Sebastian and Winter Springs.
Sousa, coincidentally, “lives right by” Weston and Parkland.
On the other side of the ledger, however, Miami was listed as the “least safest city” with 15,968 reported cases of crime (2,179 reported violent crimes and 13,789 property crimes) in 2024.
St. Petersburg, Tampa, Gainesville and West Palm Beach rounded out the top five least safest cities in Florida.
Among the safety tips issued by Eufy are securing entry points, adding outdoor security, protecting valuables, and updating home security systems to advanced systems with monitoring and multiple security devices.
In addition, Eufy said, “Stick to well-lit streets or walkways, and avoid secluded, dark alleys or side streets; carry your purse close to your body or your wallet inside a coat or front trouser pocket; and park in a well-lighted area and be sure to lock your car doors.”
Sousa, who joined the Key Biscayne Police Department in 2021 after a long career in the Fort Lauderdale PD, said he doesn’t want to take the credit for the high safety ranking.
“Our officers make me look good every day,” he said. “They follow the direction (as to) what we give them.”
To view details of the Eufy report, click here.