[jeffspock]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Violent crime in the United States dropped 3 percent last year, continuing the downward trend in the nation's crime rate over the past decade, the FBI announced Monday.

The drop came despite a 1.7 percent increase in reported murders between 2002 and 2003, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report. All other categories of violent crime -- manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- declined.

Sixty-two percent of last year's murders have been solved to date, compared with 46 percent of all violent crimes, the report said.

Total property crime, which includes nonviolent criminal incidents such as auto theft, burglary and larceny decreased slightly, down 0.2 percen



i can't believe only 62% of murders were solved. That means you have a 38% chance of getting away with it.