Preliminary data : U.S. violent crime in year dropped 2.5 percent from 2007 . Murders declined 2.5 percent but rose in towns of more than 12,000 people . Drop in violent crime would be first consecutive year-to- 2007 decline . Violent crime in the U.S. has largely been declining over the past two decades .
Preliminary data : U.S. violent crime in 2008 dropped 2.5 percent from 2007 . Murders declined 4.4 percent but rose in towns of fewer than 10,000 people . Drop in violent crime would be third consecutive year-to-year decline . Violent crime in the U.S. has largely been declining over the past two decades .