Washington, D.C. ? Violent crime increased in the United States in 2006 for the second year in a row, continuing an upward trend that followed more than a decade of declines, according to statistics released Monday by the FBI.

Violent crime incidents – defined as murder, rape, robbery or aggravated assault – rose by 1.9 percent to 1.41 million in 2006. Murders increased 1.8 percent to 17,034.

The volume of violent crimes was slightly higher than expected; preliminary data released by the FBI this summer showed a 1.3 percent increase over 2005.

The violent crime rate – measured as incidents per 100,000 population – peaked in the early 1990s, then declined until 2005.