No. of reported crimes in 2007 to fall below 2 mil

Police investigated 1,761,993 crimes in Japan during the 11-month period through November, down 7% from a year earlier, the National Police Agency's survey showed Thursday. The total number of crimes for the full year is expected to come to 1.91 million, marking a decline for a fifth straight year and making it likely that the number will be below the 2 million line for the first time in 10 years.
The crime-resolution ratio rose 0.7 percentage point from the year before to 32.2%. The NPA attributed the decrease in crimes to street patrols and expanding awareness of crime prevention among the public. The number of serious crimes, such as murder, robbery, arson and rape, fell 10.2% to 8,382 cases during the reporting period, with huge drops in the numbers of robbery and arson cases. There were 26 murder cases involving handguns, up 10 from a year earlier.
Thefts accounted for the largest number of crimes, but the number of cases dropped 7% to about 1.32 million, while the number of bicycle thefts increased slightly.