Serious Crimes Decline

Violent Crimes are down (with the exception of murder) around the nation. Even places like New York are seeing a downturn in crime - although the NYC police union claims this is because of purposeful non-reporting.

Those crimes - murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - dropped 3.2 percent compared with the same period in 2002. Murders were the only category to see an increase, rising 1.1 percent.

Violent crimes have been dropping steadily over the past five years, particularly in the nation's largest cities. The report Monday showed a 6.5 percent decrease from 2002 to 2003 in these crimes in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants.

Decreases were reported in all regions of the United States, with the Midwest showing the steepest drop at 7 percent. The decreases were 3.2 percent for the Northeast; 2.7 percent for the South; and 1.2 percent for the West.