Not This Again?

Headlines like this have been the source of numerous jokes, yet people seem to keep coming up with this shocking conclusion:

Crime rate down, but prison population on the rise

Hat tip to The Corner for the link. I especially like one their reader's thoughts on the headline:

Just once I would love to read a headline that says:

"Crime Rate Soars Despite Falling Prison Population"

I want to see it to hear the potential explanations.

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.