Violent crime in US drops again as election nears

Rates of violent crime in the United States fell last year, according to annual Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) statistics released Monday, contradicting Donald Trump on a key election issue.

Contributing to a three per cent reduction overall,  the report showed a nationwide 11.6 per cent decrease in murder, a 9.4 per cent drop in rape and a 2.8 per cent fall in aggravated assault.

Attacks on property fell by an estimated 2.4 per cent, but in one notable exception, vehicle theft, which is included in the category, cases jumped 12.6 per cent.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running neck-and-neck with Republican candidate Trump in the November election, quickly welcomed the fall in violent crime.

"Today's new data submitted to the FBI confirms that our dedicated efforts and collaborative partnerships with law enforcement are working," she said, citing more support for local authorities, crime prevention and gun control efforts.

"Violent crime is at a near 50-year low. While we have made great progress, we are not stopping now," she added.

On the campaign trail, Trump often invokes what he calls a wave of violent crime sweeping the country and blames it on immigrants.

Although he has not offered evidence to back up his claims, Trump has previously disputed FBI crime statistics.

An FBI official said in a presentation on Monday that the report had followed the same methodology for decades.