Overall crime down in Suwannee County, slight increase in Live Oak

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November 9, 2012

Overall crime down in Suwannee County,  slight increase in Live Oak   

FDLE releases crime stats for first 6 months

Bryant Thigpen Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Fri Nov 09, 2012, 10:20 AM EST

Live Oak — Overall crime in Suwannee County dropped 3.9 percent for the six months of 2012 compared to the same time period in 2011, according to the Semi-Annual Uniform Crime Report released Thursday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office has improved its record from last year. According to the report, the SCSO has seen a decrease in crime by 7.7 percent while the Live Oak Police Department has seen a slight increase of 1.5 percent.  Sheriff Tony Cameron and his staff resolved 35.7 percent of the 263 cases it had from January through June of this year.  The LOPD has cleared 19.9 percent of the 201 cases it had in the same time period.

“Suwannee County is very fortunate that our crime rate is down,” Cameron said. “Our deputies have done a very good job protecting the citizens of this county.”

Although the crime percentage for the Live Oak PD increased by 1.5 percent, Police Chief Buddy Williams was quick to point out that violent crimes have decreased by 22 percent.  “Although we’re not happy about any crime increase, we’re thankful that violent crimes are decreasing,” Williams said.  Williams noted that it was the crimes of burglary and theft that increased. He also pointed to the upcoming holiday season as prime time for those types of crimes.

“Our officers are doing a great job and are working hard to protect the citizens of Live Oak and we’re going to keep it up,” Williams stated. Suwannee County had one murder, compared to one the same period last year; one forcible rape, compared to none last year; 10 robberies, same for the previous year; aggravated assault went from 82 in 2011 to 55 in 2012; burglary increased from 143 to 180 and larceny dropped from 228 to 207.

The state of Florida has improved upon its record from last year. For the first six months of 2011, 373,340 crimes were committed and 24.5 percent of them were resolved. Records show that for the same time period this year, crime has gone down by 3.8 percent, with a total of 359,051 crimes committed.  To view the entire report, visit http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/FSAC/Menu/UCR-Home.aspx