Crime Rates Down in 2007

Violent crimes and property crimes were both down nationwide last year, according to a preliminary report on 2007 crime statistics released Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In Crime in the United States 2007, the FBI reports that the nationwide violent crime rate dropped for the first time since 2004, down 1.4 percent from 2006. Property crimes saw a 2.1 percent decline from 2006. In terms of crime rates by U.S. region, the Northeast saw the highest reduction in violent crime, with a 5.4 percent decrease from 2006 to 2007. The South was the only region in which violent crime rose (0.7 percent). Reuters reports that the 2007 numbers "appear to show that the two years of increases in violent crimes -- 1.9 percent in 2006 and 2.3 percent in 2005 -- represented just a temporary upswing rather than the start of a long-term trend of more crime."

• FBI Press Release on 2007 Crime Data
• Read the FBI Report: Crime in the United States 2007
• Reuters: Violent Crime Drops After Rising for Two Years
• Crime Prevention Resources (FindLaw)
• Criminal Law Center (FindLaw)