St. Louis police statistics say major crime reports down more than 9 percent

The St. Louis Police Department released its crime statistics today for 2010.

And what did the statistics show?

• The number of serious crimes reported was at its lowest level since 1967.
• Violent crime and serious property crime dropped by more than 9 percent in 2010 over the year before.
• Crimes against persons including forcible rape and robberies both fell dramatically, by more than 20 percent.
• But there were 144 homicides last year - that's one more than in 2009.

Police chief Dan Isom says things are headed in the right direction but more work needs to be done, especially in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th police districts on the city's north side:

"Two-thirds of the homicides and aggravated assaults occur in those areas, so those are the areas we really need to focus on to reduce crime in St. Louis even further," Isom says.

This year the department took some heat for recording multiple car break-ins in close proximity as one incident with multiple victims.

Isom says the department records crimes according the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting guidelines.