The FBI released a preliminary report earlier this week detailing January -- June 2006 crime data based on the submissions of 11,535 law enforcement agencies in the United States. Each of these agencies had to submit three to six comparable months of data to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for January through June of both 2005 and 2006. Statistics from the report include the following:

• Portland saw less than a one percent increase in violent crime in 2006 compared to 2005. Portland had a 19.2% decrease in property crimes.

• Eugene saw a 33% decrease in violent crime and a 22.6% decrease in property crimes in 2006 compared to 2005.

• Salem saw a 6.4% decrease in violent crime and a 4.5% decrease in property crimes in 2006 compared to 2005.

• Outside of Oregon, Vancouver saw an increase of 12.4% in violent crime and a 14.9% decrease in property crimes in 2006 compared to 2005.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program collects data on the following crimes: murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-threat, and motor vehicle thefts.

PORTLAND (Preliminary -- January to June) 2006 2005 Murder            13            11 Forcible Rape           138           166 Robbery           591           549 Aggravated Assault        1,125        1,130 Burglary        2,467        3,098 Larceny-theft       10,748       13,105 Motor Vehicle Theft        2,045        2,694 EUGENE (Preliminary -- January to June) 2006 2005 Murder              2            -   Forcible Rape            10            36 Robbery            61            61 Aggravated Assault            58           100 Burglary           611           799 Larceny-theft        2,511        3,391 Motor Vehicle Theft           683           727 SALEM (Preliminary -- January to June) 2006 2005 Murder              3              1 Forcible Rape            35            27 Robbery            80            67 Aggravated Assault           216           262 Burglary           530           525 Larceny-theft        3,228        3,249 Motor Vehicle Theft           357           536 VANCOUVER (Preliminary -- January to June) 2006 2005 Murder              4              4 Forcible Rape            60            63 Robbery            74            79 Aggravated Assault           198           153 Burglary           500           565 Larceny-theft        2,354        2,817 Motor Vehicle Theft           500           560

Final figures for all cities during 2006 will be available in October 2007.

This preliminary report does not contain data for cities in Oregon smaller than those listed above. The FBI simply compiles the information as it is provided from local jurisdictions. The entire report is available to view and download from the FBI's web site at www.fbi.gov.