According to preliminary statistics related to crime in 2008, released on Monday by the FBI, crime fell during the first half of the year – the second time in a row! While violent crime declined by 3.5 percent nationwide, crime related to property fell by 2.5 percent.

From January to June 2008, vis-à-vis the same period in 2007, murder fell by 4.4 percent, assaults declined 4.1 percent, rape decreased 3.3 percent and robberies fell by 2.2 percent.

However, there was a shocking spike in small-town murder and manslaughter - reports indicate almost a 10 percent increase in murders in towns with population less than 10,000.

Not only did the year 2008 spell bad times for the country’s car dealers, it also was an equally awful year for car stealers - thefts related to motor vehicle fell by a significant 12.6 percent!

The biggest fall in violent crime was noted in the Midwest region, with a nearly 6 percent drop overall. The crime rate in cities with population between 250,000 and 499,999 saw the most significant drop in violent crime - a 5.2 percent decline.

Among the other areas of the country, crime dropped 1.5 percent in the South, 2.9 percent in the Northeast, and 5 percent in the West.

The statistics related to crime are submitted by the country’s law enforcement agencies to the FBI, as a part of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The data forwarded is then standardized and analyzed by the bureau, before releasing the nationwide figures.