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My Way News - FBI Says: Violent Crime Falls 3 Percent

Expect to see other reports on the latest UCR annual summary to stress the slight increase in murders while all other categories of violent crime declined. Moreover, as the last line of this story notes, the household survey of crime victimization fell to its lowest rate since the survey started in 1971.

One matter not addressed was whether the total of aggravated assaults and murders rose or fell. Since the speed with which victims reach definitive medical care is often the only thing that distinguishes an aggravated assault from a murder, the two should not be analyzed in isolation. Murders could rise somewhat, even against a background of declining violent crime, if there were a decline in the efficiency of EMS transport and/or trauma centers.