By Associated Press
Albany, NY – The number of major crimes in New York state dropped 3.1 percent in 2003, according to results from an FBI survey of U.S. police departments.
Data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting System show the number of the seven most serious crimes fell in New York for the tenth straight year, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which released the figures Monday.
The state's drop in crime also continued to outpace the national decrease in crime.
The total number of violent offenses -- including murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- in the state dropped by 6.1 percent compared to a 3 percent decrease nationally.
Reported assaults fell 8.9 percent statewide, while rape decreased 2.9 percent and robbery dropped 2.4 percent.
Taken separately, the number of murders in the state rose 2.8 percent, compared with a 1.7 percent increase nationally.
Property thefts in the state, including burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft, dropped 2.4 percent in New York, compared with a national decline of 0.2 percent.
"Although New York has shown impressive results, we are in a position where we can and must do more," Governor George Pataki said in a news release. "I know that if we continue to aggressively and proactively attack crime we can become the safest state in the nation."
Pataki has continued to call for the passage of legislation he said will help reduce crime further. Among his proposals are an expansion of the state's DNA law, an elimination of the statue of limitations for rapes, sexual assaults and other violent felonies and the mandatory arrest of domestic violence abusers.
Earlier this year, Pataki unveiled a crime-fighting initiative known as "Operation Impact," aimed at helping 15 counties that account for about 80 percent of crime in New York outside of New York City.