The latest FBI crime statistics released Monday show the nation's murder rate increased 2 percent during the first six months of 2005, while crime fell for other major crimes such as rape, arson and assault.

The FBI says small towns with populations of less than 10,000 people had the highest increases in crime with 13 percent, according to the FBI's uniform crime reports. After a significant drop of 5.7 percent in the murder rate last year, it went up 2.1 percent between January and June.

The Midwest saw the largest increase in the number of murders, with 4.9 percent, reports The Associated Press

Property crimes such as burglary and vehicle thefts fell 2.8 percent overall.Assault also declined to just under 1 percent.The figures are based on crime reports from 10,374 police departments nationwide.