Violent crime down, FBI says

A survey of more than 11,700 law enforcement agencies shows that violent crime is continuing to drop across the country, according to the FBI.

In the first six months of 2009, murders were down 10%, robberies dropped 6.5% and rapes decreased 3.3% from the same period in 2008.

Back in July my colleague Allison Klein wrote about how there have been fewer killings in the District and other major cities. Criminologists told her it wasn't clear why there was less violence, but police said they think new high-tech crime fighting tools are helping.

The FBI report shows that not every city is experiencing less crime. Violent crime overall decreased 7% in cities of more than a million people, but it edged up slightly in cities with between 10,000 and 24,999 residents.

-- Maria Glod

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