If you spend some time watching the news these days, it doesn't take long before you might become overwhelmed by the negative, fearmongering that they constantly perpetuate on a daily basis.

It might even make you afraid to venture out into your own community, thinking that you aren't safe any longer when visiting innocent festivals or shopping for groceries at your local supermarket.

But in the United States though, crime is on a downward spiral, according to a recent study from the Brennan Center for Justice.

In their investigation, researchers analyzed a 10 year period and discovered that fewer people are in prison and crime rates are on the decline.

They found that more than 30 states have successfully been able to reduce their imprisonment and crime rates.

They've taken this finding to support the notion that prison population can be reduced without it jeopardizing the safety of the community overall, especially since many people are behind bars over victimless crimes. Those individuals arguably never meant any harm to their communities in the first place and it's unjust for many reasons, to force the community to pay to house that person behind bars for what are ultimately non-violent, victimless crimes.

Still, many people are being arrested over cannabis crimes and other drug crimes in the United States today, even though decades of the war on drugs has proven it to be a failed policy. And even though many states have pressed forward with legalization, cannabis arrests have still been on the increase in recent years.

It's reported that Massachusetts has seen the highest decrease in both incarceration and crime rates, both by more than 40 percent.

Since 2008, they've reduced the number of inmates serving non-violent drug convictions by roughly 45 percent. It's a start, but it's not good enough yet, more progress can be made and more people should be set free.

They might have been able to decrease the prison population some around the nation, but the country overall still arrests and detains more individuals than most. They still have a long way to go if they truly want to embrace more freedom and move away from their reputation as incarceration nation.

While watching the media for any period of time might quickly fuel feelings of worry, causing you to believe that you aren't safe the moment you walk out of your door, the truth is that crime is on the decline in many regions.

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