Violent crime in the United States increased for the second consecutive year, new crime statistics for 2016 published by the FBI on Monday show. The FBI statistics reveal that while violent crime increased, property crime fell for the same period. In Maryland, murders dropped by nearly 40 victims from 2015, authorities say.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the violent crime rate rose 3.4 percent, and there were an estimated 17,250 murders in 2016, an 8.6 percent increase from 2015. The property crime rate, on the other hand, fell 2 percent compared to 2015 figures. The FBI report shows there were an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2016, and while those numbers rose from 2015 to 2016, the five-year trend shows an increase of 2.6 percent from 2012, and the 10-year trend shows a decrease in violent crimes of 12.3 percent from 2007. Murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault are considered by the FBI to be violent crimes.

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The estimated rate of violent crime was 386.3 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the estimated rate of property crime was 2,450.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the FBI data. In 2015, the estimated rate of violent crime was 372.6 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,487.0 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.

According to the FBI, Maryland's crime rate per 100,000 residents is 472. In the Baltimore/Columbia/Towson metro area, the agency says there were 28,003 violent crimes in 2016 broken down into these categories: 477 murders/non-negligent manslaughters

2,946 rapes

10,222robberies

15,593 aggravated assaults

134,419 property crimes

24,001 burglaries

98,686 larceny/theft

11,732 motor vehicle theft By comparison, authorities say the same region recorded 515 murders and manslaughters in 2015.

A database of murders in Baltimore, where police have battled street violence and shootings, shows that 260 homicides have occurred so far in 2017, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Experts at The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University say that overall, the data from the FBI show a decrease in the crime rate for the 15th year in a row.

The increase in the national murder rate is due in part to upticks in cities such as Chicago, accounting for more than 20 percent of the nationwide murder increase, the center explained. The 11 largest cities with populations greater than 1 million saw a 20 percent murder increase and a 7.2 percent violent crime increase. The Brennan Center says its analysis shows the murder rate increased 7.9 percent nationally, which is consistent with the FBI's own findings. A preliminary analysis of crime in 2017 by the Brennan Center estimates that the rates of overall crime, violence and murder in the 30 largest cities will all decrease in 2017. The overall crime rate decreased by 1.4 percent in 2016, according to the center's analysis.