Violent crime increased by 3.9 percent in the United States last year, but FBI officials say the number of offenses remains far below the peaks of the 1990s.
After two years of decline in the number of violent crimes, the figure rose to nearly 1.2 million last year, including a nearly 11 percent jump in the number of murders to 15,696, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday the figures show "we still have so much work to do," but noted the total number of violent crimes is the third lowest in the past two decades. She said crime is down or stable in many U.S. communities.
The number of rapes in the United States increased by 6.3 percent last year, while aggravated assaults rose 4.6 percent and robberies 1.4 percent.
But the FBI said the number of property crimes fell 2.6 percent to about eight million, the 13th straight year the figure dropped. The agency said burglaries were down 7.8 percent and larceny thefts by 1.8 percent, even as the number of stolen auto cases rose 3.1 percent.
The latest crime statistics could figure in Monday's presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
He has praised aggressive policing, including a call for controversial "stop and frisk" tactics of people walking in communities that civil rights activists say unfairly targets minorities. She has called for stricter gun control laws that Congress has rejected, even after high-profile mass shooting cases.
