The FBI released 2013 data showing that several types of crime are down in Chicago. View Full Caption DNAinfo files/Josh McGhee

CHICAGO — The murder rate in Chicago dropped last year to a rate about three times lower than that of Detroit, the city with the highest rate in the nation, the FBI said Monday.

The federal agency released data showing that between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2013, the murder rate in Chicago dropped 16.4 percent. In 2012, the city logged 500 murders; in 2013, there were 414 murders, the FBI said.

In 2013, Chicago's murder rate was 15.2 murders per 100,000 people.

"Over time, Chicago's crime rates has been dropping," said Harold Pollack, one of the directors of the University of Chicago's Crime Lab. "I think the disparities have grown in some communities, but there's been slow progress that are real."

Detroit led the way among all cities with populations of more than 100,000 in 2013, logging 45 murders per 100,000 people.

Chicago's murder rate ranks 31st in the nation and is also lower than that of other large cities such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia (ranked 28th and 29th respectively, at about 15.9 murders per 100,000 people each.)

“As the federal data shows, we are making real progress in reducing crime and violence by putting additional officers in high-crime areas, partnering closely with the community and backing it all up with strong prevention measures,” Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said in a statement. “Yet while there has been less crime and fewer murders over the past two years, there’s much more work to be done and no one will rest until everyone in Chicago enjoys the same sense of safety.”

Other types of crime have fallen in Chicago from 2012 to 2013, the FBI said, including robberies (down 12.7 percent), property crimes (down 15.1 percent) and burglaries (down 22.2 percent.)

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