GETTING RESULTS ON CRIME

ORLANDO, Fla. – The first time most Floridians heard about forensic botany was during the Casey Anthony murder trial in 2011. Hardy said he knows of at least 60 cases where forensic botany has been applied. “Forensic botany is the application of plant evidence to legal matters,” Hardy said. AdAnd researchers are investigating if forensic botany can help locate a body in the woods faster by looking for differentiation in treetops. Hardy said forensic botany is an ideal investigative tool because it’s always unbiased.

The State Attorney’s Office regularly recommends first-time youth offenders who are accused of committing minor crimes to Teen Court, a teenager-run mock courtroom with real rules and real penalties. The recidivism rate in Teen Court is much lower than a child who goes through juvenile probation.”Egan said teenagers who complete Teen Court re-offend less than 10% of the time, much lower than the traditional juvenile justice system. Last year, 202 Teen Court cases were completed and more than $5,400 was paid in restitution to victims, according to Egan. What we can control is what goes on inside this courthouse especially with respect to Teen Court. Teens volunteered more than 4,100 hours in 2019 in Teen Court and adults volunteered more than 924 hours, according to Egan.

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office now has access to hundreds of cameras around the county, all feeding live into the new Real Time Crime Center at the sheriff’s office headquarters. Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Services Division Chief Paul Bovino said the video feeds come from schools, intersections, beaches, parks, license plate readers, doorbell cameras and even home and business surveillance systems. “The analyst can get them updated information,” Bovino said. Some homeowners and businesses with surveillance camera systems have volunteered to stream their video feeds directly to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. “I can promise the citizens of Flagler County we don’t have the time or resources to watch everyone in Flagler County,” Bovino said.

Cornelius Blue rose through the ranks of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office over the last three decades after making a promise to his grandmother in 1990. “How can I not be in Ministry and law enforcement,” Blue said. “We pay for their Academy, and they’re essentially working full-time receiving a salary while they’re in school or the academy and is being paid for by the Sheriff’s Office,” Blue said. “We wanted do a better job of recruiting minorities and people with the level of diversity to help police and provide service to our community.”The Sheriff’s Office now also recruits at historically black college and universities. Blue said already the Sheriff’s Office is looking to hiring several minority recruits as deputies or corrections officers.

ORLANDO, Fla. Orlando Police Officer Joseph Lundy has been doing a lot of listening lately as the coordinator of the police departments new youth outreach program. Both sides have to be willing to come to the table and listen to each other.Lundy also regularly listens to his 14 youth outreach liaison officers, the patrol officers who volunteered for the new OPD program. The officers promised to get to know the youth in the communities they serve in order to help those youth with problems, fears, and challenges. Both Boys to Men and the Youth Outreach team helped the young men get through school and graduate. Lundy said OPD began youth mentoring in 2009 but OPD's latest version of youth outreach was introduced on May 7, weeks before the death of George Floyd.

Pedroza asked the Orange County Sheriff’s Office if, by chance, they might have the machine and was surprised to find out they did. The Sheriff's Office agreed and within an hour announced it had a match. Forensic Biologist and Orange County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigator Sarah Koerber did the testing. Koerber said the Sheriff's Office is currently using ANDE to compare DNA samples from crime scenes and obtain almost immediate results. And meanwhile, the killer is long gone.”Snelling's case was the first successful use of ANDE by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

OCALA, Fla. – In October 2019, News 6 last visited the Berkeley Pointe apartments in Ocala after several shootings. Ocala Police Captain Steve Cuppy was asked to curb violence at Berkeley Pointe. Cuppy said the complex still needs more lighting to illuminate all corners of the complex and discourage drug activity. Cuppy gave the complex a "D" grade on making security improvements. “I know there is still an element in the complex that is not healthy for the complex and that’s a problem,” Cuppy said.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – When the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit recently opened up dozens of gas pumps in a county-wide credit card skimmer sweep, they discovered two skimmers. "When you think of the number of gas pumps throughout Brevard County, to now have only two we’re very happy with that. The bad news is that while gas pump skimmer numbers are falling as owners upgrade their pumps Goodyear said criminals are still targeting older model pumps. Most credit-card-number-stealing skimmers are engineered to plug into older technology credit card readers because on old, antiquated gas pumps skimmers are undetectable because they’re hidden inside the pump. One way to tell if a credit card reader has been upgraded is to check how your card is inserted.

UCF detectives stop ‘actual violence from occurring’Published: January 29, 2020, 6:25 pmThe University of Central Florida’s police department’s “Persons of Concern” detectives have prevented violence on campus without a doubt, according to Chief Carl Metzger.

Daytona Beach police driving down pedestrian, bicycle fatalitiesPublished: January 22, 2020, 6:30 pmDaytona Beach police are spending at least five hours several days a week on the most dangerous stretches of roadway talking to pedestrians and bicycle riders.

Domestic violence drops in Flagler CountyPublished: January 8, 2020, 6:14 pmThree years ago when Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly took office, he discovered the number of domestic violence cases had been steadily growing and victims and offenders were slipping through the cracks.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Osceola County deputies tracked down three teens who are now charged with breaking into vehicles in the Formosa Gardens community. It's also an area some teens took advantage of this weekend, according to Osceola County Sheriff's Office. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office began working to get results after multiple complaints were made about vehicle break-ins over the weekend. Using their helicopter, they caught three teens walking to several vehicles to check to see if they were unlocked. "My hat's off to the authorities with Osceola County.

The caller is a tipster, one of 10,000 people to call Crimeline every year and one that may provide the big break a detective needs. Crimeline executive director Barb Bergin said when News 6 asks viewers to call Crimeline, they do, almost always. "Our phones are ringing at 5 and 6 p.m. when you're on the news so we know that that relationship is very important in getting valued tips," Bergin said. The tips often help solve cases both big and small, Bergin said. Bergin said Crimeline helped solve 39 crimes just last month.

ORLANDO, Fla. – In a highly-secure locker room at an undisclosed location, ATF's Orlando field division stores thousands of confiscated guns. Special Agent in Charge Daryl McCrary, who oversees all Florida ATF offices, gave News 6 exclusive access. McCrary says the most common gun on Central Florida streets is the 9mm semi-automatic handgun. All of the guns in the vault were taken off Central Florida streets from people either awaiting trial or awaiting sentencing, according to McCrary. ATF is currently involved in the search for 121 guns stolen from businesses and homes in Volusia and Flagler counties during Hurricane Matthew.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Lt. Glen Hamann of the the Titusville Police Department rattles off three scams in row to the seniors seated in front of him. Hamann is speaking at SeniorFest in Melbourne, an event created and designed specifically for seniors. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was a guest speaker at Senior Fest. He said law enforcement in Brevard County meets regularly with seniors to teach them how to protect themselves. Hamann also warned of scammers calling to say that a senior has won a prize but must pay taxes first.

Like every other law enforcement agency in Central Florida, the Orange County Sheriff's Office keeps statistics on every crime committed. But the Orange County Sheriff's Office puts those past numbers to work to predict future crime. "Traditional policing is we're having a lot of crime, let's go make an arrest, let's write a lot of tickets, let's generate a lot of tickets. Stonebreaker said patrol deputies use the software to guide them where to patrol and get results on crime. Last week, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings insisted to News 6 that Predpol is one of the agency's top violent crime-fighting tools.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The map below displays shootings in Orlando and Orange County that News 6 has covered since Jan. 1.

"We are probably the busiest area in the State of Florida for traffic crashes and specifically hit-and-run crashes," said Buday. Buday isn't in his office, he's visiting hardware stores, car dealerships, bars and convenience stores, and junkyards among other places. He checks with dealerships to see if a suspect purchased replacement parts. Not all cases will be solved, Buday admitted, but insisted that most will. "You may get away for a week, maybe 2 weeks or a month, but I'm gonna find you," said Sgt.