The crime rate is down in California – quite a bit, in fact. Murders have dropped to a 44-year low.
The new figures come from the California Attorney General’s office. And they show a clear trend: a nine-and-a-half percent drop in homicides from 2009 to 2010 … after a separate nine percent drop the year before.
There’s progress with other violent crimes too. Rapes are down six percent. Robbery … just under nine percent. And aggravated assault … about four-and-a-half percent.
Even some more minor crimes also showed declines – especially arson, which saw a 15 point drop.
The Justice Department report is a preliminary one. And it doesn’t include the entire state – only the largest police and sheriff’s departments … the ones that serve populations of 100-thousand people or more. But those jurisdictions cover a majority of Californians.
