Arrests for sex crimes falling

Arrests for sex crimes falling

At a time when public awareness of child molesters and rapists has never been more acute, arrests for sex offenses have been dropping steadily for almost a decade.

FBI reports show that arrests are down across the country, including Arizona, where the numbers have fallen from more than 2,000 in 1997 to 1,500 last year. Criminal-justice experts are uncertain about the reason.

At the same time, new federal and state laws are cracking down on convicted offenders like never before.