FMPD\u2019s 2025 Annual Report.<\/a><\/p>\nFrom 2024 to 2025, motor vehicle thefts dropped 38%, from 178 to 111. Robberies decreased 36%, from 90 to 57, while thefts including those from motor vehicles dropped 39%, from 1,374 to 835.<\/p>\n
Murders decreased 22%, from nine in 2024 to seven in 2025. Aggravated assaults decreased 4%, from 301 to 289.<\/p>\n
Not every category declined. FMPD\u2019s annual 2025 report shows burglaries increased 10%, from 153 to 169, while reported rapes increased 42%, from 28 to 40.<\/p>\n
Police focus on trends, hot spots and repeat offenders Fields said officers are closely monitoring where crimes are occurring and focusing resources on people believed to be responsible for repeated criminal activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look at crime trends. We do some really, really in-depth follow-ups and we\u2019re hyper-focused on the few individuals that are causing the most crime out there and holding them accountable,\u201d Fields said.<\/p>\n
FMPD\u2019s annual report describes the department\u2019s use of a stratified policing model. The approach uses crime analysis to identify repeat calls for service, crime patterns, hot spots and habitual offenders before determining how resources should be deployed.<\/p>\n
The department identified 38 hot-spot patterns in 2025, down from 53 in 2024.<\/p>\n
The West District saw identified hot-spot patterns drop from 14 to five, while the Central District fell from 11 to eight and the South District dropped from 14 to nine. The North District increased from 14 to 16.<\/p>\n
Fields also pointed to technology as one of the tools helping officers investigate and respond to crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnology has helped us out tremendously,\u201d Fields said. \u201cOur real-time crime center, our constant monitoring of crimes, is just simply amazing. However, you need the people behind that technology to really work it and to get out there and track down these criminals. Technology\u2019s only gonna take you so far, and that\u2019s where the human element comes into play.\u201d<\/p>\n
FMPD\u2019s annual report says its Real Time Crime Center integrates computer-aided dispatch information, automated license plate readers, ShotSpotter gunshot detection and city-owned and other authorized cameras.<\/p>\n
The department\u2019s Intelligence Unit also uses crime mapping, forensics, risk assessments and geographic information to identify patterns and develop suspects.<\/p>\n
Fields told WINK News all of FMPD\u2019s sworn positions are currently filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur retention and hiring efforts have been just astronomical,\u201d Fields said. \u201cWe are at a point right now where all our sworn spots are filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fields said having those positions filled allows the department to better meet the city\u2019s needs while dedicating resources to responding to calls, combating crime and conducting follow-up investigations.<\/p>\n
Jane Polakoff was born and raised in Fort Myers and has watched the city change over her 41 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times probably when I was a lot younger, 20-plus years ago, there was a couple places to kind of come to downtown,\u201d Polakoff said. \u201cYou kind of made your way in and made your way out, go back to the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Polakoff said she has noticed a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think it\u2019s gotten a lot better,\u201d Polakoff said. \u201cWe visit during the day and night. We come to a lot of the events on the weekends too, so I love how downtown has really grown and [is] a lot more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polakoff also said cameras and other technology give her additional peace of mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s more peace of mind knowing that there are the cameras,\u201d Polakoff said.<\/p>\n
Lynn Chisholm has regularly traveled to Fort Myers for work since 2021. Chisholm said traveling alone makes her particularly conscious of safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly feel safer here than in some other communities, Orlando, Miami, even sometimes the Tampa area,\u201d Chisholm said. \u201cWhatever you\u2019re doing to keep Fort Myers safer, I\u2019m all for it. I enjoy coming here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The broader decline in reported offenses does not mean Fort Myers has been without high-profile violent crime. Rolbert Joachin is accused in two separate Fort Myers murder cases.<\/a><\/p>\nBecause the cases remain active, Fields did not discuss specifics of the investigations. WINK News instead asked him how his department generally handles major investigations that receive attention beyond Southwest Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny high-profile or major case, as with any case we\u2019re gonna do or any investigation, it\u2019s gonna be all hands on deck,\u201d Fields said. \u201cEach investigation is a little bit unique.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fields said factors including witnesses, surveillance and the severity of the crime can make each investigation different.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, we\u2019re gonna take the same approach,\u201d Fields said. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna put the same effort and do everything that we can to provide justice and give justice to those family members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fields said national attention does not change those fundamentals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that any case can rise to a national level,\u201d Fields said. \u201cHowever, we\u2019re not gonna compromise the basics, and we\u2019re gonna make sure we get the job done correctly and accurately.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 Fort Myers police are reporting hundreds fewer person and property offenses during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,28,897,16399,1521],"class_list":["post-369109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-florida","tag-fort-myers","tag-fort-myers-police-department","tag-southwest-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}