Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 26, 2026.
Live Oak, Florida, in Suwannee County, has about 7,200 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the State Attorney files charges, a case in the Suwannee County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Live Oak public records, Suwannee County arrest records, Florida arrest records and Florida inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Live Oak
The FBI lists Live Oak with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Live Oak Police Department. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Suwannee County: the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Suwannee County, the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Suwannee County, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Suwannee County, the Suwannee County Florida Game Commission and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Suwannee County (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Live Oak
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Live Oak the counts on file are partial: Live Oak has sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Live Oak Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Live Oak and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 140 people on an average day, down from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 196 beds, and it ran at 85 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office at smartcop.suwanneesheriff.com/smartwebclient/jail.aspx (page title: JAIL View), phone (386) 362-2222, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Florida Department of Corrections lists its inmates at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Live Oak
For Live Oak the place to look is the custody page of the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail.
Florida is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24 a search, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Live Oak
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the agency must answer promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus a special service charge for large requests.
- An arrest by the Live Oak police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at cityofliveoak.org/police-department (page title: Police Department | City of Live Oak), phone (386) 362-2276, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (386) 362-2222.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at suwanneecountyfl.gov/public-records-requests (page title: Public Records Requests | Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The Suwannee County guide covers every agency in the county: Suwannee County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Live Oak?
Look on the custody page of the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office at smartcop.suwanneesheriff.com, or call (386) 362-2222. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Live Oak booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Live Oak?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Live Oak?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Live Oak police for its own arrests, the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the answer is due promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at suwanneecountyfl.gov/public-records-requests.
Is this the official Live Oak website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.