Florida's crime rate dropped 4.7 percent in 2013, the lowest number since the state began compiling the statistics.

Gov. Rick Scott, along with Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and a group of Tampa Bay-area law enforcement officers, made the announcement Wednesday.

The overall number of crimes fell by 27,380, or 4.7 percent, to 698,607 total.

According to statistics compiled by law enforcement agencies and the FLDE, there were 970 murders in 2013, a 3.9 percent drop from the previous year.

Locally in the Central Florida and Tampa Bay areas, crime also dropped in all but three counties. The crime rate was up 2.4 percent in Sumter County, and rose more than 6 percent in Seminole County.

Levy County, north of Citrus and west of Marion, saw the largest percent decrease -- 63 percent -- in its crime rate.

Crime in Gulf County, east of Panama City on the Panhandle, rose more than 30 percent. Both Levy and Gulf counties are smaller in population than any counties in Central Florida or the Tampa Bay area.

———————————————

Florida Crime County-by-County

2012–2013, Central Florida and Tampa Bay area counties.

COUNTY 2012 CRIME RATE / 100,000 2013 CRIME RATE / 100,000 % CHANGE
Brevard 3,596,2 3,333.6 −7.3%
Citrus 2,335.9 2,260.9 −3.2%
Flagler 2,262.9 2,238.3 −1.1%
Hernando 2.971.0 2.558.6 −13.9%
Hillsborough 2,791.8 2,571.3 −7.9%
Lake 2,772.7 2,556.7 −7.8%
Manatee 3,855.9 3,716.7 −3.6%
Marion 2,680.9 2,528.0 −5.7%
Orange 4,949.2 4,885.6 −1.3%
Osceola 3,769.8 3,527.9 −6.4%
Pasco 3,140.2 2,946.8 −6.2%
Pinellas 4,211.5 4,162.5 −1.2%
Polk 3,502.8 3,323.1 −5.1%
Seminole 2,715.9 2,894.9 +6.6%
Sumter 1,074.9 1,100.8 +2.4%
Volusia 3,897.6 3,853.3 −1.1%

Source: FDLE, Crime in Florida: Uniform Crime Reports