Oregon Public Broadcasting

 New FBI statistics show the violent crime rate is down in the Northwest as it is nationwide. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman sorts through some of the numbers.

Nationally, the violent crime rate dropped about two percent in 2008.

In the Northwest, the rate decreased just slightly in Washington and about four percent in Idaho.

Oregon saw the biggest drop nationwide in its violent crime rate -- down 10.6 percent from 2007.

Oregon does have strict mandatory minimum sentences. But state officials credit Oregon's aggressive campaign against meth.

Craig Prins, the director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, says now, cops rarely have to deal with the messy task of cleaning up meth labs.

Craig Prins: “They're able to focus on trying to dismantle big drug trafficking organizations rather than street level. And getting into a big drug trafficking organization takes time and resources. And so I think getting a handle on the meth labs has allowed law enforcement to do that.”

Oregon, Washington and Idaho all reported a dip in property-crime of about seven percent.