Karl Etters

Democrat staff writer

A year ago Saturday — May 14, 2015 — investigators were picking through the charred remains of Aaron Goodwin’s South Adams Street sneaker shop.

Earlier in the morning, the 24-year-old’s body was found inside the business. He had been robbed and killed for 40 pairs of refurbished shoes.

His murder — in March, Antowan Hawkins was sentenced to life in prison for the crime — was one of Tallahassee’s 16 homicides last year, a 10-year high.

The killing was part of an overall 15 percent spike in violent crime that plagued residents within the Capital City limits in 2015. It also follows a record year of homicides in Leon County in 2014.

Now local officials say they hope the addition of new police officers, paid for by a double-digit property tax increase and federal grants, will help turn the tide.

Crime data, compiled by the Tallahassee Police Department for a Wednesday public safety workshop, show an increase across the board in homicides, robberies, rapes and fondlings and aggravated assaults.

Aggravated assaults showed the greatest increase, rising by 10.5 percent from 2014 to 2015 — a statistic TPD calls "paramount."

Police also found the level of gun violence troubling.

"Of particular notoriety is the number of violent acts involving firearms," according to a Tallahassee Police Department analysis.

The statistics come after an annual report showed Leon County had the highest crime rate in the state per capita in 2014. Statewide data comparing counties is expected to be released later this month.

It also comes as the Community Leadership Council on Gun Violence plans to recommend the city fund a gun-violence stemming model based on a program that originated in Chicago.

TPD Chief Michael DeLeo was not available for comment Friday.

City Commissioner Gil Ziffer said he is optimistic that new Tallahassee police officers hired using the 13 percent property tax increase in October’s budget will help improve the situation.

“We’re just starting to get those police in and out into the city,” Ziffer said. “I anticipate seeing some sort of leveling off.”

Ziffer was quick to point out that stemming violent crime doesn’t rest solely on police work.

Re-entry services for felons coming out of prison, early education to show kids there are positive avenues to pursue and hiring the right officers are priorities moving forward, Ziffer said.

“2015 is alarming, but the efforts we’re putting in will come to fruition in 2016,” he said. “Now is not the time to ease off the pedal. What we want is people who can go into neighborhoods and be seen as friend not foe, someone you run toward when you have a problem, not run from.”

TPD is hiring 33 more officers, some paid for through tax increases and others through a federal grant. Police last year said the officers would be dispatched to target areas where violent crime is most prevalent.

Also of concern is the increase in rapes reported in 2015, said Refuge House Executive Director Meg Baldwin.

However, the increase, from 198 in 2014 to 235 last year, shows that more people are comfortable coming forward when they are the victim of sexual assault.

Baldwin said Refuge House, which aids victims of sexual assault, saw a similar increase — 24 percent — in requests for services.

“It seems as if survivors have more information available and more information about what sexual assault is and are reaching out for more support from law enforcement,” Baldwin said.

There has been a shift in the makeup of victims seeking services at Refuge House, she added. Historically, 40 percent of those reporting sexual assault were students, but now more non-students are seeking help.

Mayor Andrew Gillum, who was unavailable to field questions, provided a statement saying city officials are confident in the multi-pronged approach to addressing violent crime.

He said the city has focused on shifting police resources to hotspot neighborhoods, community policing efforts and expanding programs that provide an alternative to lax summer days where violence can develop.

“These problems weren't created overnight, and they won't be resolved overnight," he said in the statement. "Determined, focused and sustained efforts to address the root causes of these problems, not just the symptoms, are what's required.”

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.