News release: “In 2007, the violent crime rate in the United States was at about the level of 2005, and the property crime rate was somewhat below the 2005 estimate, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today. Comparisons were made between the rates for 2005 and 2007, as 2006 was an atypical year due to the impact of methodological changes made to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Violent and property crime rates in 2007 were at or near the lowest levels recorded since 1973, the first year that such data were available. The violent and property crime rates fell during the previous 10 years (1998-2007), though most of the declines occurred within the first five years. In 2007, the violent crime rate (20.7 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) was 43 percent lower than the rate in 1998, and the property crime rate (146.5 per 1,000 households) was 33 percent lower than in 1998.”