The number of violent crimes in Iowa declined last year. The latest state data from the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. shows over 8,500 violent crimes were reported in Iowa in 2008.
That includes 76 murders. But the number of violent crimes is down from 2007 — a 3.2% decline in violent crimes in the state of Iowa.
The number of property crimes in Iowa fell more sharply from 2007 to 2008, by seven percent. Nationally, the violent crime rate declined for the second year in a row.
See the national data here.