The total number of crimes reported in Nebraska dropped by 5 percent last year when compared to 2006, but reports of violent crimes rose.

“There’s good news and not-so-good news,’’ said Michael Behm, executive director of the Nebraska Crime Commission, which released the crime statistics Monday. “We’re OK with overall crime statistics decreasing, but we’re up on violent crimes.’’

Overall, reported violent crimes increased by 6 percent in 2007, with a sharp spike in some. According to the new crime figures, the number of reported cases of murder and manslaughter jumped 25 percent, with 66 cases in 2007.

That’s up from 53 reports in 2006.

Part of the increase is due to the Dec. 5 shootings at Von Maur department store at Westroads Mall in Omaha. Robert Hawkins killed eight people before killing himself.

Violent crimes also include forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The number of aggravated assault cases in the state jumped 11 percent, but reports of forcible rape and robbery decreased.

Behm said Nebraska’s increase in violent crimes “differs significantly’’ from a 1.4 percent drop nationally in the number of reported violent crimes.

Most of the increase in reported cases of murder and manslaughter occurred in Omaha, where there were 42 such reports in 2007.

Overall, reports of crimes in the state’s largest city dropped 4 percent in 2007; in Lincoln they decreased by 3 percent.

Not all crimes are counted in the figures released by the Crime Commission. Besides violent crimes, the commission tallied reports of burglaries, larcency-thefts, motor vehicle thefts and arsons.

Reports of property crimes in the state dropped 6 percent, a bigger fall than the national decrease of a little more than 2 percent.

The state’s smallest towns experienced the biggest decrease in reported crimes. Reported crimes in cities with populations of less than 5,000 decreased 10 percent.

And statewide, arrests were down in 2007. There were 2,367 fewer arrests in 2007 than in 2006.

Contributing to the overall decrease in arrests were fewer juvenile arrests in 2007. But the number of kids arrested for violent crimes rose sharply, from 191 in 2006 to 250 in 2007, a 32 percent increase.

“It was encouraging to see the total number of juvenile arrests decrease, especially for alcohol-related arrests, but it was disturbing to see the number of juvenile arrests for violent crimes increase,’’ Behm said.

For Lincoln, the overall gradual decline since 1991 in the rate of crime — measured as the number of incidents per 1,000 people —  continued through 2007, Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady said. The rate was 77.1 in the peak year of 1991 and 52.5 last year.

Aggravated assaults rose slightly in 2007, Casady said. But property crimes, which typically account for roughly 90 percent of all crimes, continued to decrease.

The local decrease reflects a national trend that Casady suggested might be fueled by the proliferation of public surveillance cameras and cell phones. “So, it’s more difficult to commit public crimes,” he said.

Journal Star reporter Clarence Mabin contributed to this story.