The country's murder rate declined 2.7% in 2007.

The country's murder rate declined 2.7% in 2007. The rate dropped the most in the Northeast, and declined in the Midwest and the West, but increased in the South. According to the preliminary Uniform Crime Report published by the FBI, violent crime declined generally by 1.4 percent in 2007 in the U.S. While cities with more than 1 million residents showed improvement, smaller urban communities including Baltimore and Atlanta apparently posted a rise in homicides in 2007, the data showed. Southern cities also experienced modest increases in violent crimes. “This report suggests that violent crime is decreasing and remains near historic low levels,” said Peter Carr, Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Justice Department. The FBI report is based on information provided by more than 12,000 police agencies. A group of several thousand more agencies will share additional data by the end of the year, when the report becomes final.