Crime rates in 2004 remain at recent lows

As detailed here at CNN.com and over at TalkLeft, the latest Justice Department statistics shows that the “nation’s crime rate was unchanged last year, holding at the lowest levels since the government began surveying crime victims in 1973.”  There will surely lots of debates over (1) whether these findings have been impacted by past sentencing policies and (2) whether they should impact future sentencing policies.  Late last year in this post, I suggested reasons why 2004 ought to be a uniquely rich and interesting time period for examining the relationship between sentencing policies and crime rates.  I look forward to seeing all the coming analysis.