The crime rate in Suwannee County dropped 9 percent last year from 2007, according to data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Annual Uniform Crime Report, released Friday.

While the county as a whole was down, the crime rate in the city of Live Oak rose 6.3 percent. Crime outside the city limits fell 17.2 percent.

“I feel the crime rate is down because of all the hard work and dedication of not only the sheriff’s office, but all state and local law enforcement agencies,” Sheriff Tony Cameron said Friday.

Chief Buddy Williams of the Live Oak Police Department said the increase in crime rate was due mostly to 12 home invasion robberies and two murders within the city limits.

“We’re doing everything we can to avert the crime,” Williams said Friday. “When you go from no murders one year to two and 14 robberies to 33 in one year, that will do it.”

There were 1,053 crimes committed in the county compared to 1,157 in 2007. Four-hundred and twenty five of those crimes occurred within the city. The sheriff’s office registered 627 crimes.

The clearance rate within the city was 19.8 percent. The sheriff’s office cleared 29.7 percent of its crimes.

The crime rate rose .8 percent statewide in 2008.