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A major Florida county made it through 2025 without a single homicide.
St. Johns County, which houses the historic city of St. Augustine and boasts a population of more than 300,000, is the only county among the 100 largest in the US without recording a criminal homicide, according to a report by the St. Johns Citizen last week.
“Sometimes you whisper accomplishments because you don’t want to take them for granted,” county Sheriff Robert Hardwick told the outlet. “We’re truly blessed.
“There’s no single reason for a year like this. It’s cumulative — a lot of variables.”
St. Johns did report two fatal shootings — both officer-involved shootings that were ruled justified and therefore not classified as criminal homicides, First Coast News said in a separate report.
Hardwick, who said there also was just one criminal homicide in the county in 2024, credited city officials with providing his department with the help, training and funding required to keep locals safe, with nearly 80% of the sheriff’s office budget going to salaries and benefits.
“I honestly go back to our commissioners approving our budget and allowing me to invest in technology, allowing me to invest in our agency members and their equipment,” he said.
“It goes back to the community believing in us, not being afraid to call when something suspicious occurs, Hardwick said. “If they see something, they say something, and they let us do our job.”
The sheriff acknowledged there is still work to do, with domestic-violence cases and violations of orders of protection up last year — meaning it will take plenty of focus to keep the zero homicide streak going.
“We had a great year — and a lucky one,” he told the St. Johns Citizen.
English (US)