Violent crime has declined 6 percent in the United States in 2010 for the fourth consecutive year.

An FBI report released Monday said burglaries, theft and other crimes against property dropped 2.5 percent, for the eighth year in a row.

Nationwide, an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes and about 9 million property crimes occurred last year.

The biggest drop was in the number of robberies, which fell by 10 percent, followed by 5 percent for rapes and more than 4 percent for murders, non-negligent homicides and aggravated assaults.

The report shows that last year's drop in violent crime is part of a long-term trend with the number of such cases falling each year since 2006.