"FBI Says: Violent Crime Falls 3 Percent

WASHINGTON (AP) - Every type of violent crime fell last year with one notable exception: Murders were up for the fourth straight year, according to an annual FBI report released Monday.

After reaching a low point in 1999 of about 15,500 homicides, the number has crept up steadily since then to more than 16,500 in 2003 - or almost six murders for every 100,000 U.S. residents.

That was a 1.7 percent increase from 2002 and a jump of more than 6 percent since 1999. Still, the latest figure was 29 percent lower than the homicides in 1994."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041025/D85UO2UG0.html
[linked from Drudge]