Both violent and property crime fell in 2017, The Hill reported on Monday.
Violent crime went down about one percent, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, while property crime decreased 3.6 percent.
Robberies, murders and burglaries all decreased, although assaults and motor vehicle thefts went up slightly.
Property crime rate continued its long-term decline last year to reach its lowest level since the late 1960s.
In general, crime and murder rates have been falling for decades after large increases began in the 1960s and continued for some 30 years, according to Vox.
Some experts were concerned that rise in murder rates in 2015 and 2016 meant there would be a reverse in these long-term trends, but last year’s numbers, as well as estimates so far for 2018, indicate that those recent increases may turn out to be abnormalities in an overall trend.
There were some 200,000 fewer violent crimes committed last year than there were in 1999, even though the nation’s population has increased by 50 million people, according to The Hill. The number of property crimes has dropped by more than two million in just a decade.
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions credited Trump administration policies with the lower crime rates, VOA reported.
But criminologists were skeptical that national policies were the main factor and said there were likely as many reasons for the decline in the violent crime rate last year as there were for its rise in 2015 and 2016.
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