By Alabama Public Radio
Undated – New federal crime statistics show Alabama's numbers are moving in opposite directions of the national averages. The state's murder rate dropped more than 16 percent between 1999 and last year. State authorities say they aren't sure why that happened, but it's a better statistic than the national average, which went up during that period. But overall crime in the country has been going down while Alabama's numbers have gone up. That includes an almost 7 percent increase in reported rapes and an 11 percent increase in reported robberies.