Property crimes also fell by 2.7 percent in 2010, which marks the eighth consecutive decrease year over year, the law enforcement agency noted, which was published in its yearly “Crime in the United States” report.
Approximately 1.24 million violent crimes were reported to law enforcement last year. There were around 9 million property crimes reported.
The number of robberies dropped by 10 percent, which was the largest single annual decline, said the FBI. Rape was next, with a 5 percent decline last year.
Property crimes in each category declined in 2010, with motor vehicle thefts having the largest decline of 7.4 percent.
“Safe communities are the foundation of our nation’s prosperity, and I have made it a priority of this Department of Justice to protect the American public by aggressively fighting violent crime,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
