In 2007, 48,605 persons age 65 and older were arrested in crimes other than traffic violations, more than double the number five years earlier, according to a ministry report.

Thefts such as shoplifting and pick-pocketing were the main offenses, the ministry report said.

“The main reasons they shoplift are poverty and loneliness,” said Kazuo Kawakami, a former federal prosecutor. “The traditional Japanese family is gone, and now our elderly live alone.”

Morio Mochizuki, who heads SPUJ, one of Japan’s largest security firms, said the stories of shoplifting suspects at the thousands of stores his company oversees across Japan bear that out.

And the problem becomes more acute during New Year holidays, traditionally a time for family gatherings in Japan, Mochizuki said.

…Despite the arrest numbers, prosecutions of the elderly in a culture that holds them in high regard are rare. Stores often don't even report the crime to police, according to security experts.

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A long-retired police chief reached back into his memory Monday to recall what a crime-scene investigator told him nearly a half-century ago as they stood near the body of a murder victim in a Santa Ana California hotel.

The investigator felt that the bludgeon and strangulation murder of Christine Elizabeth Vono Wariner on Feb. 16, 1964, was solvable, especially because they found four bloody fingerprints apparently left by the suspect on the hotel door.

It is the oldest cold-homicide investigation – at 44 years – in Orange County history to result in an arrest and prosecution.

"With these fingerprints, we've got our man," Thayer quoted the investigator as saying.

Full Story » OCRegister.com

The sheriff's office in Chicago has arrested more than 60 fugitives with a net of holiday cheer.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Sunday that the suspects were invited to take a retailers' survey for holiday shoppers at a hotel earlier this month.

Participants who brought along a scratch-off card that was included with the survey were promised at least $500.

…Those who showed up were taken into custody.

Full Story » My Way News

AUSTRALIAN consumers with Chinese surnames are being targeted in a telemarketing scam based in Hong Kong, the consumer watchdog has warned.

Described as an "old-style scam" operating through a simple phone call, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been taken from trusting consumers around the country, ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says.

"The promise of a large win and the scammers' persistence hook consumers into paying upfront fees for club memberships, taxes and other charges," he said.

Full Story » The Courier-Mail

A serial burglar who stole war medals and other family heirlooms has been sent to jail for 17 year.

Jaime McKillop, 37, will spend a minimum of 12 years in jail before applying for parole after being handed the sentence by New South Wales District Court Judge Paul Conlon in Wollongong.

The sentence sparked a burst of applause from McKillop's victims when it was handed down in court.

"I was in a state of shock at first," 69-year-old victim Ken Sweeny told News Ltd.

"I do think the community expects sentences like this but unfortunately they are too rare."

Full Story » livenews.com.au

Prosecutors on Monday filed 3 indictments and an information charging seven people with conspiracy and securities fraud. Prosecutors say the company manipulated prices by paying kickbacks to people to buy and hold stock.

Authorities say that activity created the illusion of market interest, accusing executives of trying to artificially inflate the company's stock price.

National Lampoon owns the rights to the "Vacation" and "Animal House" series of films, among others.

Full Story » FOXNews

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's home church was badly damaged by arson, leading the governor to apologize Saturday if the fire was connected to "undeserved negative attention" from her campaign as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Damage to the Wasilla Bible Church was estimated at $1 million, authorities said.

No one was injured in the fire, which was set Friday night while a handful of people, including two children, were inside, according to James Steele, the Central Mat-Su fire chief.

He said the blaze was being investigated and said he didn't know of any recent threats to the church, and authorities did not know whether Palin's connection to the church was relevant to the fire.

Full Story » www.washingtonpost.com