(RALEIGH) -- State and federal officials say the amount of bank robberies involving North Carolina banks has fallen dramatically over the past ten years. FBI special agent Dennis Kinney outlined the numbers in Raleigh on Tuesday.

"To date, we've had a reduction somewhere in the neighborhood of 98 bank robberies for this year as opposed, in the past, to where we've seen up to a 138, so it's significant," said Kinney.

He added that one of the reasons for the decline is the cooperation taking place between state and local law enforcement. Bank robberies in North Carolina have fallen to a ten-year low, according to the figures released by the North Carolina Bankers Association.