The F-B-I’s annual review of crime in the U-S shows both violent crimes and property crimes dropped in Iowa in the last year. The report uses stats submitted by law enforcement agencies across Iowa. It shows violent crimes reported dropped by over 360 in 2003 when compared to the year before. The bigest drop came in aggravated assaults, which went from over 63-hundred in 2002 to just about six-thousand in 2003. Reported rapes dropped by 37 to 762, and robberies dropped by nearly 50. Murders were up by three compared to 2002 — with 47 reported in 2003. Iowa’s murder rate was about two per-100-thousand residents compared to the national rate of almost six per 100-thousand residents. The rate for reported rapes was the closest to the national average — with 27 per 100-thousand Iowa residents compared to 32 per 100-thousand residents nationwide. The same report shows crimes against property dropped by over five thousand from 2002 to 2003. The largest drop came in the number of property thefts — which went down by nearly 44-hundred. The number of burglaries went down by over one thousand, and motor vehicle thefts dropped by over two-hundred. Iowa remains below the national averages in all categories.
