Crime‐Mapping Resources & How to Use Them

By Staff Writer

June 2, 2025 • Cape Coral, FL

Cape Coral residents and prospective homebuyers can now access real‐time, interactive crime and safety data through multiple online platforms. Below is an overview of the most reliable mapping tools—what they show, how to interpret their layers, and tips for using them effectively.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office Community Crime Map

What It Is: The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) provides a “Community Crime Map” that covers all incidents reported within Lee County, including Cape Coral. Each icon denotes a geocoded crime incident (assault, burglary, theft, etc.) sheriffleefl.org.
How to Access: Visit LCSO’s “Crime Map 2.0” page, click the search icon, and type in any Cape Coral address or zoom out to view the entire city.
Features & Filters:
Date Range: Adjust the slider to see incidents from the past week, month, or up to an entire year.
Time of Day: Narrow results by hour—for example, view only after‐dark assaults or daytime burglaries.
Incident Type: Toggle specific categories (violent crime, property crime, traffic crashes) to declutter the map.
Interpreting Icons: Each symbol corresponds to an FBI‐defined crime category. Hover or click to see:
Incident Date & Time
Exact Location (Street Address or Cross Streets)
Brief Description (e.g., “Burglary – Forced Entry”)

Because the LCSO map is updated continuously, it’s the most accurate source for very recent activity (last 24–48 hours). However, it only shows reported incidents—unreported or “unfound” crimes do not appear.

CrimeGrade.org: Neighborhood Safety Heat Map

What It Is: CrimeGrade.org assigns each Cape Coral census tract a grade (A–F) based on weighted crime data—green areas are safest, red areas most dangerous, and yellow areas moderate-risk crimegrade.org.
How to Access: Navigate to CrimeGrade.org’s “Safest and Most Dangerous Places” page for Cape Coral. The interactive map colors each neighborhood by its overall crime score.
Key Metrics:
Overall Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents): Cape Coral stands at 9.69, lower than 97% of U.S. cities—a reason for its overall A+ safety grade crimegrade.org.
Violent vs. Property Crime Breakdowns: Hover over each tract to see that violent‐crime rates range from 0.87 to 1.56 per 1,000 (nearly half the national median), while property crime hovers around 8 per 1,000 crimegrade.org.
Interpreting the Heat Map:
Dark Green Tracts: Lowest combined crime scores—often in southwest Cape Coral (e.g., sections near Del Prado Blvd S and Cape Coral Parkway).
Yellow Tracts: Moderate ratings, usually midtown areas with mixed residential and commercial zoning.
Red Tracts: Higher incidence rates, most frequently in east Cape Coral (e.g., near Skyline Blvd and N 20th Street).

CrimeGrade also provides “Is This Area Safe?” pop‐ups with numerical risk scores—useful for homebuyers or renters researching specific subdivisions.

SpotCrime & LexisNexis Community Crime Map

SpotCrime (spotcrime.com/FL/Cape%20Coral)
What It Is: A publicly available crime‐map aggregator that pulls from police reports and user‐submitted tips. Shows a rolling archive of violent‐ and property‐crime icons on a Google‐based map spotcrime.com.
Key Features:
“Trends & Analytics” View: Offers bar‐chart overlays showing weekly or monthly spikes in specific crime categories (e.g., aggravated assault, vehicle theft).
Filters: Focus on incidents tagged “Shooting,” “Robbery,” or “Burglary,” etc.
Usage Tip: Because SpotCrime lags police‐reported cases by 24–48 hours, cross‐reference with the LCSO map for the latest data.
LexisNexis Community Crime Map
What It Is: A GIS‐driven tool that ingests official law enforcement data (including LCSO feeds) and displays them on a custom map. Allows searches by address and date—similar to LCSO’s native map but with additional context layers like school zones and business districts communitycrimemap.com.
Interpreting Layers:
“Violent Crime” Layer: Shows aggravated assaults, robberies, homicides.
“Property Crime” Layer: Highlights burglaries, larceny, motor‐vehicle theft.
“Suspicious Activity” & “Other” Layers: Useful for tracking non‐violent but concerning reports (e.g., vandalism, loitering).

Because LexisNexis consolidates historical data going back several years, it’s ideal for trend analysis—seeing whether a given intersection has a long‐term crime “hot spot” or if incidents are clustering in newly developed districts.

DoorProfit & Local GIS Portals

DoorProfit Crime Map
What It Is: A third‐party site that uses open‐data feeds (LCSO and FHP) to create a simplified, user‐friendly map of recent incidents. Highlights “Crime Density” via shaded overlays—darker shades signal more reports per square mile doorprofit.com.
Best Use: Quick snapshot of “high‐density” corridors—e.g., Cape Coral Parkway between Del Prado Blvd and Chiquita Blvd tends to show darker shading, indicating clusters of thefts or traffic incidents.
Cape Coral GIS Portal
What It Is: The City of Cape Coral’s own GIS dashboard (capecoral.gov/gis) layers crime icons alongside zoning, parcel data, sidewalk networks, and canal systems capecoral.gov.
Key Layers:
“Crime Incidents” – Syncs with LCSO data for real‐time mapping.
“Neighborhood Policing Zones” – Shows which Cape Coral Police precinct or beat covers each block, useful for directing service requests.
“Street Lighting & Sidewalks” – Correlate dark areas (poorly lit streets) with higher evening incident rates when planning safe walking routes.
Usage Tip: Combine the “Crime Incidents” layer with “Canals & Waterways” to assess whether waterfront areas (like the Cape Coral Yacht Club region) see fewer burglaries compared to inland subdivisions.

2. Recent Crime Trends & Neighborhood Safety Patterns

By Staff Writer

June 2, 2025 • Cape Coral, FL

By examining multiple crime‐map sources, a clear picture of Cape Coral’s safety emerges: overall crime remains below national averages, but certain neighborhoods show divergent trends. Below is a data‐driven summary of recent patterns and “what it means” for residents.

Overall Crime Rates Are Below National Median

Total Crime Rate (2023): 9.04 per 1,000 residents, compared to a U.S. average of 22.1 per 1,000 neighborhoodscout.com.
Violent Crime: 0.87 per 1,000, less than half the national median of 2.9 per 1,000 neighborhoodscout.com.
Property Crime: 8.18 per 1,000, below the U.S. median of 15.16 per 1,000 neighborhoodscout.com.

Cape Coral’s low overall rates explain its CrimeGrade “A” designation (89th percentile for violent crime safety; 97th percentile overall) crimegrade.org crimegrade.org. However, raw numbers alone mask neighborhood‐level differences.

Neighborhood “Hot Spots” vs. “Safe Havens”

East Cape Coral (Skyline Blvd & Pine Island Rd):
SpotCrime’s map shows higher concentrations of armed robberies and vehicle thefts near Skyline Blvd NE and NE Pine Island Rd over the first quarter of 2025 spotcrime.com.
CrimeGrade marks this area in light to dark yellow, signaling moderate risk—residents report one violent‐crime incident per 1 in 449 chance crimegrade.org.
Southwest Cape Coral (Near SE 10th Ave & Del Prado Blvd):
Consistently shaded light green on CrimeGrade’s map, indicating low incident rates (around 1 violent‐crime incident per 1 in 905 chance) crimegrade.org.
This quadrant shows fewer property‐crime spikes, especially during summer months when coastal subdivisions become busy with seasonal traffic.
Central Cape Coral (Chiquita Blvd Corridor):
DoorProfit’s density overlay highlights this stretch as a mid‐range property‐crime area—burglaries and larcenies tend to cluster around large shopping centers (Cape Coral Pkwy & Chiquita Blvd) doorprofit.com.
NeighborhoodScout data corroborate modest upticks in stolen vehicle reports during early 2025, necessitating heightened vigilance around public parking lots.

Time‐of‐Day Patterns

Late‐Night Burglaries: LCSO’s map shows the preponderance of reported residential burglaries between 11 PM and 4 AM—most frequently in lower‐density canal‐front neighborhoods where homes are set back from main roads sheriffleefl.org.
Daytime Vehicle Thefts: Vehicle‐theft icons cluster between 8 AM and 2 PM near retail nodes—suggesting opportunistic crimes while residents run errands.
Weekend Assaults: Synced layers in the LexisNexis map highlight a slight rise in “Other Assault” reports on Friday and Saturday nights along Cape Coral Parkway bars and restaurants, pointing to alcohol‐related incidents communitycrimemap.com.

Interpreting “Cold” vs. “Hot” Spots

“Hot Spots” (Red/Yellow Zones): Require targeted community engagement:
Increased neighborhood‐watch patrols.
“Share the Road” signage in high car‐theft corridors.
“Cold Spots” (Green Zones): Example: southeast Cape Coral subdivisions remain largely quiet—but residents should still register for LCSO’s “Alert Lee” notification service to receive crime bulletins.

Using Crime Maps to Plan & Stay Safe

Daily Route Planning: If your commute takes you through a higher‐risk corridor (e.g., Pine Island Rd NE), consider altering departure times or using alternate routes—crime spikes often align with rush‐hour patterns.
Home Security Decisions: Before buying or renting, cross‐reference prospective addresses with GIS “Crime Incidents” and “Street‐Light” layers to ensure adequate illumination in late‐night zones.
Community Action: Ask your HOA or neighborhood group to host an LCSO “Citizens’ Academy” session—understanding patrol patterns and building rapport with deputies can preempt crime issues.

Bottom Line: While Cape Coral continues to rank among Florida’s safer medium‐sized cities, localized data reveal important nuances. By combining LCSO’s real‐time maps, CrimeGrade’s heat‐map analysis, and layered GIS tools, residents can make informed decisions about where and when to live, work, and play—and help foster safer neighborhoods through targeted, data‐driven community efforts.

This report contents provided by ChatGPT o4-mini-high.

Crime and Safety Maps in Cape Coral, Florida

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