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Well I checked out my husband's home town in eastern Kentucky, an area that is very poor and has a reputation (or stereotype) of gun-toting hillbillies. The crime rate was very comparable to rural places in other parts of the country.
I did my own research and used City-Data as my source. It seems like small town
crime rates are not much different in southern towns as opposed to the rest of the county. But crime rates for bigger cities in the south overall seem to be more than the rest of the country. I think it comes down to demographics, as many mid sized and larger southern cities tend to have higher minority populations overall. The New England and Upper Midwest states are not very diverse, more homogenous, than southern or southwestern cities. I am from upstate New York, and most of the minorities live in the larger cities and I saw few minorities outside of the major cities. I know that may not be politically correct to say that, but places with higher crime rates tend to have more minorities. The south and southwest and many large northeastern and midwestern cities tend to have the most minorities. Detroit , E. St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Miami...what do they all have in common? But in the South, there are more mid sized cities that fit that criteria as well.
So it may just be a meme that the rural South is more crime-ridden than the rural NE or MW. I'm really surprised that I haven't been able to find any formal studies on this, I think I'll refer the question to the nearest University's sociology department, and see what they can find out. Interesting.
I'm not sure how to get data out of your post. You posted a link and then named some facts. But those facts, didn't come from your link. Where did you get the idea that Wyoming is #4 for firearms deaths? Just curious. Because everything I've ever researched didn't show anything close to that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DC at the Ridge
This link will connect you with a good source of crime statistics by state.
1. Washington DC
2. Alaska
3. Louisiana
4. Wyoming
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Nevada
8. New Mexico
9. Arkansas
10. Alabama
These are all deaths by firearms, including hunting accidents, suicides, and deaths incurred during law enforcement pursuits. While there is a perception that crime is more pervasive in the rural south, statistics actually suggest that violent crime is more prevalent in urban areas. People will always want what they don't have, and will lie, cheat, steal and even kill to attain those things. Anywhere you have people, you will have crime.
Well I checked out my husband's home town in eastern Kentucky, an area that is very poor and has a reputation (or stereotype) of gun-toting hillbillies. The crime rate was very comparable to rural places in other parts of the country.
I did my own research and used City-Data as my source. It seems like small town
crime rates are not much different in southern towns as opposed to the rest of the county. But crime rates for bigger cities in the south overall seem to be more than the rest of the country. I think it comes down to demographics, as many mid sized and larger southern cities tend to have higher minority populations overall. The New England and Upper Midwest states are not very diverse, more homogenous, than southern or southwestern cities. I am from upstate New York, and most of the minorities live in the larger cities and I saw few minorities outside of the major cities. I know that may not be politically correct to say that, but places with higher crime rates tend to have more minorities. The south and southwest and many large northeastern and midwestern cities tend to have the most minorities. Detroit , E. St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Miami...what do they all have in common? But in the South, there are more mid sized cities that fit that criteria as well.
So it may just be a meme that the rural South is more crime-ridden than the rural NE or MW. I'm really surprised that I haven't been able to find any formal studies on this, I think I'll refer the question to the nearest University's sociology department, and see what they can find out. Interesting.
DC
You and I took different things away from tallylady's post. First she offered the anecdote of her husband's rural KY home town to suggest that the rural South has similar crime rates to the rural north, but then she pointed out that "places with higher crime rates tend to have more minorities. The south and southwest and many large northeastern and midwestern cities tend to have the most minorities. Detroit , E. St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Miami...what do they all have in common? But in the South, there are more mid sized cities that fit that criteria as well."
That's the part I agree with. (I am not implying that all minority rural dwellers are criminals, and I assume that tallylady isn't either.)
I'm not sure how to get data out of your post. You posted a link and then named some facts. But those facts, didn't come from your link. Where did you get the idea that Wyoming is #4 for firearms deaths? Just curious. Because everything I've ever researched didn't show anything close to that.
I just googled firearms-related deaths and followed a link to statehealthfacts.org that gave me that information. I didn't do alot of in-depth research there because I was looking more for crime rate info for the OP, but that's where I pulled that list from.
I just googled firearms-related deaths and followed a link to statehealthfacts.org that gave me that information. I didn't do alot of in-depth research there because I was looking more for crime rate info for the OP, but that's where I pulled that list from.
DC
I'll be darned. Never would think that Wyoming shows as the 4th. haha
Here's a link that shows how "Violent Crime" has really went down through the last few years. But what I found interesting is that it goes on to say that there is more crime in the West then the East. Also, there's more crime via people that Rent instead of own, which would lead me to think, less income. Not always true, but generally. IMHO
Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Characteristics (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict_c.htm - broken link)
You and I took different things away from tallylady's post. First she offered the anecdote of her husband's rural KY home town to suggest that the rural South has similar crime rates to the rural north, but then she pointed out that "places with higher crime rates tend to have more minorities. The south and southwest and many large northeastern and midwestern cities tend to have the most minorities. Detroit , E. St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Miami...what do they all have in common? But in the South, there are more mid sized cities that fit that criteria as well."
That's the part I agree with. (I am not implying that all minority rural dwellers are criminals, and I assume that tallylady isn't either.)
I latched on to her anecdote and the sentence, "It seems like small town crime rates are not much different in southern towns as apposed to the rest of the country."
I think there is a perception that crime is more prevalent in the rural south than in the rural areas of other parts of the country. I was looking for statistical evidence to support or disprove this, and I haven't found any (yet), but her anecdotal evidence suggests that crime rates in a rural town in KY (which may or may not be considered south) doesn't differ so much from crime rates in rural areas elsewhere. I think there might be more deaths by firearms in the rural south than in other parts of the country, but some of the studies I've been reading indicate that these deaths aren't actually crimes against others but are suicides or hunting accidents. So I'm continuing to look, so if you have some references to recommend, please do so.
I just want to clarify that I'm not trying to argue a position on crime rates in the south v elsewhere, the thread just caught my curiosity as to whether rural crime in the south was really more prevalent than elsewhere, and if so why. Which led me to begin wondering about population homogeneity and low crime rates (OP was from Scotland where population probably not as diverse, if there is a difference in crime rate in rural town A versus rural town B, is it tied to poverty, culture or something else, what about population homogeneity, isn't it harder to commit a crime against someone like you than someone different from you, etc, etc). The firearms stat was just an initial google to get a feel for violent crime versus other criminal activity because violent crime tends to attract more studies and more attention.
I like South Carolina a lot. It's got some of the nicest people living there, but jobs are getting more scarce in some places, though I have yet to notice it here. A good city might be Columbia.
Yes, these states definitely have alot of crime. On the employment front, Louisiana was the only state that added jobs last year.
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You and I took different things away from tallylady's post. First she offered the anecdote of her husband's rural KY home town to suggest that the rural South has similar crime rates to the rural north, but then she pointed out that "places with higher crime rates tend to have more minorities. The south and southwest and many large northeastern and midwestern cities tend to have the most minorities. Detroit , E. St. Louis, Cleveland, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Miami...what do they all have in common? But in the South, there are more mid sized cities that fit that criteria as well." 
