FBI: Violent Crime Figures Drop Across The U.S.

Syracuse, NY (WIBX) - Law enforcement agencies from across the U.S. report a decrease of 6.4 percent in the number of violent crimes being committed during the first half of 2011. The data is collected through the Uniform Crime Report Program from participating agencies, in an effort to combat crime. Bill Huba, Supervisor for the local FBI Office in Syracuse, says although the figures are positive, the information is meant to be used as a tool by local law enforcement agencies, to address their communities needs.

Huba said,  "It's up to the individual offices to try to taylor their particular responses to their communities that they serve. You may have an anomaly, like the UCR is reporting that violent crime is down x percent across the nation, but you could have hot spots were, you know, certain areas they've actually seen sharp increases for whatever reason. So, again they allow the field offices to work with their local partners on things that are important in that particular region."

The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Also in the UCR--Property crimes across the country have declined by 3.7 percent during the same period. However, officials warn against misleading the public by drawing incomplete conclusions about the figures, and caution against comparing statistical data of individual agencies.

You can find the annual UCR report, Crime in the United States, 2010 here.