The murder rate in Wisconsin plummeted 21 percent in 2008 according to a report from the Office of Justice Assistance.
In 2008, 147 people were murdered in Wisconsin. The reported rate of 2.6 murders per 100,000 residents was well below the Midwest's overall rate of 4.9 murders per 100,000 residents.
Of the total number of homicide victims, 66 percent were male and 34 percent were female.
Motor vehicle theft decreased by 15 percent, one of the largest decreases the report announced. Violent crime in Wisconsin decreased by 0.3 percent and arrests dropped by 2 percent.
According to the report, arrest rates have been on the decline since 2004. Drug-related arrests decreased by 2 percent and society arrests decreased by 3 percent.
Although property and violent arrests increased by 1 percent from the previous year, the trends identified in the report indicate an overall decrease in both crime and arrests across Wisconsin.
The information in the report was collected from nearly 400 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies. The report was prepared by OJA's Statistical Analysis Center and contained data on eight major criminal offenses, including murder, forcible rape and burglary.
The purpose of the report was to identify underlying trends in Wisconsin. For this reason, the report categorized its findings based on race, gender and age.
The data collected will be used in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's yearly report, ""Crime in the United States,"" which compiles data from all 50 states.
—Hannah Furfaro
