Crime levels in Lawrence decreased by 6 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to a report recently released by police.

While the city saw a higher number of murders, robberies and burglaries in 2008, other crimes saw significant drops.

There were 15,648 crimes reported in Lawrence last year, down from 16,710 in 2007, according to the report. The numbers are based on Kansas Incident Based Reporting System Statistics guidelines.

“Obviously, our law enforcement’s done an excellent job,” said Rob Chestnut, the city’s vice mayor.

Lawrence Police Sgt. Bill Cory said there may be multiple reasons for the overall drop in crime numbers, including prevention efforts, public awareness and crimes being underreported.

“Your goal is to have the crime as low as possible. We all want to live in a city where crime’s not an issue,” said Cory. He said officers are seeking to reduce crime with the resources available.

Rapes in the city were down 33 percent, from 70 in 2007 to 47 in 2008, the police report said. Other sex crimes were down 17 percent from 116 to 96.

Assaults and batteries were down 2 percent, from 2,312 in 2007 to 2,263 in 2008, the report said.

Lawrence also recorded four murders last year, compared with none in 2007.

Robberies were up 14 percent, from 78 to 89, according to the report. Burglaries were up 4 percent from 672 to 697.

District Attorney Charles Branson said the rise in robberies and burglaries can be attributed, in part, to the difficult economy. He said his case load has decreased slightly, though the cases are growing in seriousness.

Chestnut said the decrease in crime reported by police is a testament to the fact officers are working with the resources they have, despite a shortage of 19 officers on the force.

“They do a tremendous job, it’s somewhat of a thankless job and one that we take for granted,” said Chestnut.

Under the KIBRS reporting guidelines, crimes against people, such as assaults and batteries, are counted by the number of victims. Robberies, however, are counted by the number of incidents and not the number of victims.