News In Brief

Reports of serious crimes down 7% in '83, FBI says

The number of serious crimes reported to police in the United States dropped 7 percent last year, the FBI said Thursday. It was the second significant decline in two years and the largest drop since 1960.

The preliminary 1983 figures, which are subject to revision, showed declines in all seven major categories on the FBI Crime Index, in every region of the nation, and in every size of community. The 7 percent decline compares with a 3 percent overall decline in 1982, which was the first significant decrease since 1977.

The preliminary FBI report said the violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault were down 5 percent from 1982. The far more numerous property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, and motor-vehicle theft dropped 7 percent.