After a 39 percent decrease over 13 years, the FBI says violent crime is rising in the United States.

And they attribute that in part to meth use.

The FBI on Monday released its preliminary crime numbers for 2006, showing violent crime is on the rise for a second straight year.

The number has been pushed up by a 6 percent increase in robberies, and federal officials said they believe that increase is being fueled by a nationwide spike in methamphetamine use.

Though violent crime numbers have gone up only modestly, the FBI said there is reason for concern, because the statistics suggest a national methamphetamine epidemic may be pushing those numbers higher.

The just-released uniform crime report for 2006 shows murder and non-negligent manslaughter are up three tenths of a percent , including a 6.7 percent jump in big cities over a million people.

The biggest increase was in robberies -- up 6 percent.

Overall, it's just a 1.3 percent increase in violent crime over 2005, but the climb has been steady.

"For the last two years, counting these preliminary numbers, we are showing an increase. But, I think that would be too soon to call it a major trend upward," said Sgt. Tom Bush, the FBI assistant director of the Criminal Justice Information System.

While the FBI is focusing on drugs and gangs as a possible cause, local law enforcement agencies are pointing a finger at the federal government, which has been slashing funds for community policing over the past five years.

Congress is now fighting to reinstate those grants.

In the meantime, the FBI says it's broadening its Safe Streets violent crime task forces.

Three of the nation's four geographic regions reported an increase in violent crime, while the northeast was virtually unchanged.