Crime rates for homicide, robbery and rape have been dropping for several years, according to FBI statistics, but now, despite the recession, in communities large and small, burglary rates are plummeting too. Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, and Phoenix are witnessing this remarkable trend:
- St. Louis County, a whopping 35 percent drop in the first six months of 2009
- Minneapolis, down more than 15 percent in the first nine months and more than 25 percent compared with 2007
- Boston, a 13.2 percent drop with 335 fewer burglaries tallied than last year
- Philadelphia, down more than 17 percent in the first 6 months
- Phoenix, 14 percent drop in burglaries so far this year; 4,000 fewer than this stretch in 2008
(Read the full AP article at USA Today, and look for nationwide statistics to come out next year)