FBI: Most Crime Falls, but Small Town Murders Rise

WASHINGTON – The FBI says crime declined in the first half of 2008, continuing a trend from the previous year.

Violent crime nationwide fell 3.5 percent, and property crime dropped 2.5 percent, according to the bureau's preliminary figures release Monday morning.

Murders dropped 4.4 percent nationwide, though the drop wasn't universal. In mid-sized cities — those with 50,000 to 100,000 people — murder and manslaughter increased 3.3 percent.

Murders in small towns — those with fewer than 10,000 people — rose nearly 10 percent, the FBI reported.

In the Midwest, police departments reported a 6 percent drop in violent crimes. In the West, the decrease was 5 percent, while the Northeast saw a 2.9 percent drop and the South a 1.5 percent decline.