St. Louis County Police: number of "serious crimes" at 41-year low

1971: that was the last time the number of serious crimes was as low as it was in 2011 in St. Louis County, a report from the St. Louis County Police Department says.

Here are some of the statistics from the 2011 index crime report:

• St. Louis County police said Wednesday that crime dropped 2.4 percent in 2011 compared to 2010
• The county, with a population of about 1 million, had 17 homicides in 2011, matching the number in 2010.
• Rapes declined 10 percent, vehicle theft dropped by 20.7 percent, arson was down 3.5 percent.

The one area of increase was burglary, up 7.2 percent. Authorities say that is due mostly to the theft of scrap metal from vacant homes and buildings.