The statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday articulates violent and property crimes declined in 2007 from the previous year nationwide.

According to the FBI statistics, violent crime declined in 2007 for the first time in three years, with major cities showing the most significant drops; Violent crime decreased nationally by 1.4 percent from 2006. The violent crime dropped significantly in Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, and Philadelphia in 2007.

The FBI data shows that property crimes were nationally down 2.1 percent in 2007, the largest drop in the past four years. The largest declines were in vehicle theft, down 8.9 percent; rape, down 4.3 percent; and murder, down 2.7 percent.

The FBI data says that police investigated 24 homicides and 90 rapes in 2007, as compared to the 30 homicide and 129 rape cases in 2006 in Seattle. About crime rates, Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said, "Last year was the lowest in either 39 or 40 years,” but the year of 2006 was an exceptionally violent one in Seattle, he added.

According to FBI report, in Bellevue last year, police didn't investigate a single murder but were called to investigate 29 rapes. In 2006, the department investigated three homicides and 42 rapes, and in Tacoma, police investigated 10 slayings in 2007, compared with 21 the year before. Police were called to 138 rapes in 2007 and 142 in 2006.

But, San Jose saw its violent crime rate increase by nearly 6 percent in 2007. Violent crime also jumped in Santa Clara 28.3 percent and Fremont saw a 6.5 percent hike, but it dropped in most other large California cities, including 1.9 percent in San Francisco and 3.3 percent in Oakland. Philadelphia's violent crime and homicide rates went down last year, but the city still ranks last in those categories among the nation's 10 largest jurisdictions.