By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Violent crimes rose sharply in St. Louis last year, but police say the overall crime rate is still way down from the mid-1990s.
New statistics show the 131 murders last year in the city were a 15% increase over 2004.
Aggravated assaults rose 23 percent and rape reports rose 61 percent.
Police Chief Joe Mokwa says the large increase in rape reports is due in part of a change in the way the department codes and reports rapes, and also because 60 of the 276 alleged rapes occurred prior to 2005.