Murders rose sharply last year in the United States' suburban communities, and rapes were up in mid-sized cities, the FBI said on Monday. Still, overall, crimes against people and property declined slightly.

　　The biggest percentage increases in murders were recorded in suburban counties, up 12.4 percent, the FBI's preliminary crime statistics for 2002 showed. Murders declined 1.2 percent in rural counties and 14.7 percent in cities with fewer than 10,000 people.

　　Some city problems are spilling over into adjacent suburbs that have become more urbanized, said David Muhlhausen, a criminal justice expert with the Heritage Foundation. "The distinctions between cities and suburbs are sort of blurred now," he said.

　　But Penn State University professor Darrell Steffensmeier said rates continue to be so low in suburban areas that just a slight increase in murders could cause a huge percentage jump.

　　Overall, the FBI report showed a 0.2 percent decrease in the number of crimes reported to the police or other law enforcement agencies over the previous year, continuing a decade-long trend. Last year had been the only year since 1991 that crime rose over the preceding 12 months.

　　The FBI statistics showed a continued decrease in violent crime, by 1.4 percent in 2002 as compared with 2001. But the number of reported rapes rose by 4 percent and the number of murders grew by 0.8 percent, the FBI said.

　　The largest increase in rapes was reported in small and medium-sized cities. Cities of less than 10,000 people and cities with between 100,000 and 250,000 people reported increases of more than 7 percent in rapes.

　　One spokesman said women appear to be more willing to report rapes. The biggest decline in overall crime - 3.3 percent - was reported in the Northeast. The West was the only region to report an increase - 2.9 percent.

　　Experts said Los Angeles, the largest city in the West, accounted for much of the increase. Murders there grew by 12 percent to 654 last year. City officials blamed the jump on increased gang violence.