Ironic

The Oxford dictionary has defined “Irony” as an expression of meaning, often humorous or sarcastic, by the use of language of a different or opposite tendency.

Such was the word that immediately came into my mind when I saw the statistics on crime as posted on the White House Web site.

The good news is that violent crimes have declined since 1993. Property crime rates also followed a similar trend. Despite the drops, the number of adults inside correctional institutions has been sharply increasing. 7 million detainees were recorded in 2005. I guess it’s safe to surmise that that number is close to testing the 8 million mark already.

I’m sure you’ve already noticed that the statistics are conflicting. If the number of criminal records is declining, then how come penal facilities are still fully booked? I don’t have the data to explain this irony. Maybe it’s because violent or property crimes are just a small part of the total number of crimes that are being committed in the country. Let me know if you have a different answer.