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Violent crime down but murders upOverall crime up slightly
From Terry Frieden
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Violent crime dropped slightly in the first half of 2002, despite an increase in murders and forcible rape, the FBI reported Monday. Preliminary statistics reported to the FBI by more than 9,000 local police agencies showed that overall violent crime was down 1.7 percent in the first six months of 2002 compared with the corresponding period the year before. The violent crime category includes murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The drop was primarily because of a 2.8 percent decrease in aggravated assaults and a small drop in robberies. The number of murders was up 2.3 percent and forcible rape was up 1.8 percent from 2001. The overall crime rate -- which counts violent crime, property crime and arson -- was up 1.3 percent for the period. The property crimes of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft, on the other hand, were up a combined 1.7 percent in the first half of 2002. Arson, a property crime figured separately, was down 2.6 percent. Murder in the suburbs risesCrime rates have generally decreased during the past decade. After a sharp drop of 9.5 percent in the crime index during the first half of 1999, the index declined only 0.3 percent during the same period in both 2000 and 2001. The biggest increase in crime early this year came in suburban areas. Murder in suburbs was up 11.5 percent over January through June 2001. By contrast, murder was down 16 percent in rural areas -- towns under 10,000 population. In the nation's biggest cities, total murder rates increased by 2.1 percent. While murders in New York City dropped from 298 to 270, murders in Los Angeles jumped from 240 to 321. The FBI noted that overall crime during the first half of this year was down slightly in the Northeast and Midwest and up slightly in the South. The biggest change was in the West, where overall crime was up 5.9 percent and murder was up 7.6 percent. The report provides statistics on crime in all cities and towns with populations of 100,000 or more. It does not offer possible explanations for the changes in crime rates.
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