Crime Down in 2007: Preliminary figures reported by the FBI indicate that crime was down nationally in 2007. An Associated Press story by Michael J. Sniffen reports that violent crime declined by 1.4% and property crimes dropped by 2.3% last year. The FBI report, available here, showed that homicides in large cities plunged by 9.8%.

ACLU Expansion: Funded by George Soros, et al., the ACLU is planning a major expansion in "relatively conservative states," reports David Crary for AP. Among the "social justice" issues to be boosted by this expansion is ensuring that justice is not carried out for the worst murderers.

Root and Branch Causes?: In Millville, NJ, Alexander McCartney, "a forester with the state Department of Enviromental Protection, said studies have shown that an increase in a city's canopy can provide heat relief, cleaner air, higher property values and can even help reduce crime," reports Edward Van Embden of the Press of Atlantic City.

Deinstitutionalization Debacle: E. Fuller Torrey has this op-ed in the WSJ. "The latest [study], carried out by Jason Matejkowski and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, found that individuals with serious mental illnesses are responsible for 10% of all homicides in Indiana."

Cold Case DNA Hit Snags Another Sex Offender: Larry Welborn reported in the Orange County Register that convicted sex offender Lynn Dean Johnson, who had been granted parole on his earlier conviction, had been re-arrested just two weeks before his release. Johnson was linked to the unsolved 1985 rape-murder of 19-year-old Bridget Lamon through a cold case DNA hit. The prosecutor in the case told the jury that this new evidence is further proof of Johnson's "'propensity to commit violent sex crimes' against young girls". If convicted on the new charges, Johnson could face the death penalty.