Crime Numbers Experiencing a Drop
The value of stock, property and our faith in the economy isn't the only thing that is dropping.
According to a study released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, violent crime declined in 2007.
The New York Times reported that the presented data from the Uniform Crime Report reverses the two-year rise in crimes.
The report collects data from more than 17,000 law enforcement offices across the nation. A total of 1,408,337 violent crimes - murder, manslaughter, rape and assault - were reported, which is a .7 percent decrease.
According to the report, there were 9,843,481 property crimes in 2007, which is a 1.4 percent decrease from the previous year.
All of the subcategories - burglary, larceny and theft, motor vehicle theft and arson - saw a decrease, with the motor vehicle thefts seeing the most significant drop with 8.1 percent.
This is the fifth year there was a decrease in property crimes.
The number of offenders sentenced to death also dropped. This year, 42 people have been sentenced with the death penalty, which is the lowest number since 98 executions in 1999.
No more executions have been scheduled for the rest of the year.
The Death Penalty Information Center expects the number of criminals sentenced to the death penalty to continue to drop in 2009.
According to one blog, 86 percent of executions are in the South, with 62 percent of executions in Texas.
Some critics believe that the low number of executions is the result of a movement to eliminate the death penalty altogether.