Positive trends

Crime rates are down within Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County in five major categories reported by police to the FBI, Sheriff Doug Gillespie proudly announced Tuesday.

Most of the drops are substantial -- and impressive.

Take auto thefts. The category has shown the most dramatic five-year drop, from 19,529 incidents in 2006 to 6,706 in 2011.

Yes, that drop is part of a nationwide trend. There are plenty of factors, from better car locks to GPS location systems to an economic climate that finds fewer people placing "orders" for fancy car parts, which were once stolen on demand by sophisticated chop shops at a much greater frequency.

Demographics also count. An older population will have a smaller percentage of reckless youth, and high prison populations help keep repeat offenders out of circulation.

But the Metropolitan Police Department put special units on the car theft problem, and this aggressive, proactive approach has helped a lot. Because high theft rates mean high insurance rates, the sheriff and his department deserve credit and thanks for saving local residents trouble and expense on several fronts.

Homicides and traffic fatalities are also down substantially. Those figures appear solid, and in road deaths, especially, the cops share credit with better roads and traffic engineering.

Yes, some crime statistics are open to interpretation and manipulation. But the local numbers mirror the national picture. Overall, the news is good, and Metro and its officers deserve a lot of credit, along with the courts. The trends are moving in the right direction.