Under such circumstances, the government established the "Action Program to Create a Crime-Resistant Society - Aiming for the Restoration of Japan as the World's Safest Country -" at the ministerial meeting on countermeasures against crimes in December 2003, aiming to relieve public anxiety over safety, putting a brake on the increase in crimes, and escaping from the crisis situation of public safety within five years. The government has established and implemented various measures including those specified in the Action Program.
  In the meantime, the number of reported cases for non-traffic penal code offenses turned to decrease in 2003, declining to nearly 2.27 million cases in 2005, and the clearance rate of non-traffic penal code offenses has also improved up to 28.6% in 2005.
  There is no knowing whether such tendencies as a decline in the number of reported cases would really lead to the restoration of Japan as the world's safest country. Although the number of reported cases for non-traffic penal code offenses has decreased for three years in a row, that for 2005 was still about 25% higher than that of the level of 10 years before, and the clearance rate of non-traffic penal code offenses for 2005 was much lower than the level of 10 years before at around 40%. The decline in the number of reported cases and the improvement in the clearance rate have mostly been brought about by the improvement in the figures for theft, and the number of reported cases for non-traffic penal code offenses excluding theft continued to increase and their clearance rate continued to decline up to 2004. Although both figures improved in 2005, the situation has been far from reassuring, with, for example, peculiar heinous crimes such as those targeting children occurring frequently in recent years.
  Recent opinion polls also showed that public anxiety over safety has not at all been eased. Responding to such circumstances, the government has been continuously working on various activities for restoring public safety such as through preventing crimes.
  Furthermore, heinous crimes have been committed by offenders with sexual offense history, out of their sexual motivation, which has heightened public concern about sexual offenses and those offenders' repeated offenses. Establishment of measures against sexual offenses, in particular, measures to prevent sex offenders from repeating offenses, is strongly required, and as a result, efforts to provide them with more effective treatment have come to be made. In addition, serious crimes repeatedly committed by probationers/parolees raised the problem of how treatment in communities should be implemented.