But separate from the police debate, Westneat does not distinguish between increased incidences of rape versus increased reporting of rape. Increased rape reporting would actually be a good thing, and not necessarily a sign of increased crime. Here's where Westneat's numbers get interesting: "The good news, such as it is, is that there have been just 13 reports of what police call 'stranger danger' attacks, like the one on Capitol Hill in May when a 72-year-old woman was assaulted coming home from the grocery store," Westneat says. He says that police have been getting a surge of acquaintance rape reports, instead. As we know from the data on sexual assault, the vast majority of rapes are committed by someone you know. If police reports start to reflect that reality, that could be a sign of social progress, not more crime.