Crime in Dallas was down more than 10 percent in 2008 compared with the year before, Police Chief David Kunkle announced today.

"Every one of the crime categories was down last year in the city of Dallas," the chief told the City Council's public safety committee.

That includes the 170 murders recorded in the city last year, the lowest figure for any year since 1966, he said.

"Our violent crime was down almost 14 percent," Kunkle said. "Last year we had a 12 percent reduction."

Car burglaries were down about 9 percent, he said.

"The crime numbers are very, very good," he said. "Across the country, based on what I've seen, Dallas should have among the highest crime reduction numbers of any city in the United States."

The chief gave credit to the hard work of officers, as well as that of the district attorney's office, community and neighborhood groups, and the City Council itself.

"I certainly don't know what to attribute these reductions to," Kunkle said, "but I think when crime goes down, everybody in the city ought to celebrate."