According to a report released by the FBI on Monday, the first half of 2008 recorded a small decline in crime. On a nationwide level, violent crime fell by 3.5 percent, property crime dropped by 2.5 percent and murders dropped 4.4 percent. Still, in the country’s small towns, the ones with less than 10,000 people, murders rose by an alarming 10 percent.

The data indicates that violent crime has fallen for two years in a row, after a significant increase in 2005 and 2006. Some of the country’s best numbers were registered during Bill Clinton’s administration and also during George W. Bush’s first years at the White House.

The bureau defined violent crime as aggravated assault, rape and robbery, while property crime refers to larceny, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson.

The FBI's Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report (UCR) compared the figures of last year’s first six months to the same period of 2007 in order to reach the above mentioned conclusions.

The Uniform Crime Reporting Program gathers through the FBI the statistics submitted by all the law enforcement agencies across the United States, in order to analyze the data and report the situation.

These reports make it easier to identify the problems all across the country, and can point out to the areas where the authorities should boost their efforts for maintaining a peaceful environment. Considering the fact that the reports show a general improvement from last year’s figures, the conclusion should be that the authorities are on the right track and should keep the same pace in their actions.