State's Crime Rate Lowest in 40 Years

The state Office of Policy and Management recently announced that crime in Connecticut, as well as the U.S., is at a 40-year low, according to the Housatonic Times.

Michael Lawlor, undersecretary for the OPM’s Criminal Justice Planning and Policy Division, who presented the report to the legislature's Judiciary Committee on Friday, said that it's unclear why crime rates in the country are on the decline, but it could be attributed to a number of factors, including the increased use of cell phone cameras.

In 2011, the number of arrests in Connecticut decreased by 11.4 percent compared to the three previous years. The number of repeat offenses has also dropped by 5 percent since 2007. Lawlor also announced that prison rates are steadily dropping with 700 fewer prisoners incarcerated in January 2012 compared to January 2011.

In Fairfield County, specifically, Stamford and Danbury made the list of the top 100 safest cities in the country, according to CQ Press's City Crime Rankings 2011-2012: Crime in Metropolitan America, an annual ranking of cities with populations over 75,000.