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I love the way people interpret statistics. Note that it is crimes per 100,000 people. NYC averages about 600 murders a year. Greenville averages about 5. So NYC is obviously safer, right? I wonder what the statistics would show if it were 'violent crimes per square mile'?
G-man, you may not realize it, but you likely scared most people away by posting this without clarification. Was this the same graphic printed in the Greenville News months ago or have they rehashed the same misconception again? Either way, it is extremely important to provide more detail regarding this graphic to help people understand that it is actually much safer here than any of those other places. The obvious main factor is that each of these places have several million more people than we have in the entire Upstate area. Another factor we don't see in this graphic is what number did they use for Greenville's and Spartanburg's population in comparison to the numbers from these other places. I know that I can safely walk in a vast majority of Greenville and have nothing to worry about. Spartanburg does not feel as safe to me, but I can't imagine it being worse than these other places. This graphic is meaningless to me without legitimate sources given.
Another factor is how crimes get reported. I remember reading an article about how some large cities changed HOW they report crime in order for the stats to look better. For example, domestic disputes were given their own category and not included in the overall "violent crime" report. Greenville police could just have a more honest and accurate picture than the larger police departments do.
Thanks Art123, that is precisely what we had determined after this was initially printed in the Greenville News. Without an equally systematic method for reporting crime, we will never be able to accurately compare places with one another by this statistic alone.
G-man, you may not realize it, but you likely scared most people away by posting this without clarification. Was this the same graphic printed in the Greenville News months ago or have they rehashed the same misconception again? Either way, it is extremely important to provide more detail regarding this graphic to help people understand that it is actually much safer here than any of those other places. The obvious main factor is that each of these places have several million more people than we have in the entire Upstate area. Another factor we don't see in this graphic is what number did they use for Greenville's and Spartanburg's population in comparison to the numbers from these other places. I know that I can safely walk in a vast majority of Greenville and have nothing to worry about. Spartanburg does not feel as safe to me, but I can't imagine it being worse than these other places. This graphic is meaningless to me without legitimate sources given.
True. I should of explained what the graphic was trying to say, but I was in a hurry and didn't have time. Thanks to you and Art123 for telling the truth of what the graphic means.
Skyliner's right, those population stats are very important. Our cities are very small compared to the respective metro populations, so those numbers need to be taken in that context.
For the record, I've never felt unsafe walking or driving around Spartanburg or Greenville.
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Ouch: 
From the department of stats pulled out of butts...
