Crime rate fell in 2017:

The United States saw a 0.2 percent fall in overall violent crime in 2017, returning to a longterm trend of decline after two years of increases, according to data published by the FBI on Monday.

The bureau recorded almost 1.25 million cases of violent crime in 2017, which included nearly 18,000 homicides, or a murder rate of 5.3 for every 100,000 inhabitants in its report, “Crime in the United States, 2017.”

That represents a drop from 6.3 per 100,000 people in 1998, but is still higher than the 2014 level of 4.4, the report added.

The information was reported to the FBI by more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies across the country.

The leap in violence in 2015 was a result of a surge in seven major US cities: