CLEWISTON -- Recently, the Clewiston Police Department announced the 20th Judicial Circuit has been recognized for having the lowest crime rate in the state. The 20th Judicial Circuit covers Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties.

“Today I am pleased to announce that the 20th Judicial Circuit, for the 9th year in a row, had the lowest annual crime rate of all 20 Judicial Circuits for Florida. The statistics were released in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement 2020 Annual Uniform Crime Report. I know how hard the staff of the State Attorney’s Office works, as well as our partners in law enforcement, to keep the citizens of Southwest Florida safe. Their dedication to upholding the law shows with the numbers reported,” said State Attorney Amira Fox on June 29.

“Overall crime in the state of Florida declined by 15.7% in 2020 according to the report. FDLE utilizes data gathered from across the state to compile their statistics,” the Clewiston Police Department explained. “We are are honored to partner with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno; Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk; Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell; Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden; Glades County Sheriff David Hardin; Fort Myers Police Chief  Derrick Diggs; Cape Coral Police Chief Tony Sizemore; Punta Gorda Police Chief Pamela Davis; Sanibel Police Chief William Dalton; Naples Police Chief Tom Weschler; Clewiston Police Chief Tom Lewis; Marco Island Polic Chief Tracy Frazzano and all our state and federal law enforcement partners that keep our circuit safe.”

“Southwest Florida faced unprecedented challenges during 2020 due to the pandemic. The State Attorney’s Office staff endured many changes to their regular work routine, but stayed focused and worked diligently to do their part to maintain law and order,” said State Attorney Fox.