The United States' murder rate has fallen to its lowest level in thirty years.

The Clinton administration says the latest figures - for 1997 - showed American cities were the safest they had been in a generation, and that the sharp drop was due to new anti-crime laws.

The murder rate increased sharply in the nineteen eighties, but has been in steady decline for several years.

Violent crime in general has also fallen to its lowest level for many years.