The FBI’s reporting of crime statistics will be altered next year to include animal cruelty as separate category.  Up to now, the National Incident Based Reporting System has not broken out such crimes, making it difficult to track trends.  Alison Knezevich of the Baltimore Sun writes (hat tip: Breitbart): "There was no way to find out how often it occurs, where it occurs, and whether it was on the increase," said Mary Lou Randour, senior adviser for animal cruelty programs and training at the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute. "Empirical data is important. It's going to give us information about animal cruelty crime so we can plan better about intervention and prevention." Randour and others say tracking animal cruelty cases is especially important because research has shown that violence against animals can be an early indicator that a person will be violent toward humans, and that animal abuse often occurs alongside other crimes such...(Read Full Post)