U.S. Violent Crime Down in 2011, The FBI's violent crime statistics for the first half of 2011 show violent crime rates in Detroit were down 24 percent overall compared to the same period last year. The city's violent crime rate was 8.68 per 1,000 people.

Reported crimes fell in each of these categories: forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, property crime, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft.

Murders, on the other hand, were up 14.5 percent, with 173 homicides reported through the end of June. There were 151 muders during the same period in 2010.

Other Michigan cities did not come close to Detroit in the number of murders. Flint had 22 murders in the first half of 2011, down from 27 in the same period last year. Grand rapids had five, Lansing had two, and Warren's murders doubled from three to six.

But Flint's violent crime rate was highest overall in Michigan, and the second-highest of any city in the country. Flint had 8.87 violent crimes for every 1,000 people. That statistic lends some credence to things like the "Most Dangerous Cit In America" list from CQ Press, which named Flint the most dangerous city earlier this year.

Only St. Louis topped Detroit and Flint, with 8.92 violent crimes per 1,000 people.

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