New Mexico Crime Rating (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: violent crime, home, elementary schools)

[sjbasin]

New Mexico is ranked 3rd for crime.

Nevada Ranked Most Dangerous State - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque

[InTheDesert]

My mom sent me that article this morning (she does NOT live in NM), here is the one she sent me and you can see the individual rankings based on category of crime, click the next button in the article to scroll to NM:

Most Dangerous States 2008 - AOL Money & Finance

[InTheDesert]

Copied from the site for NM:

Rankings in Crime (out of 50)

Assault: 6
Burglary: 3
Murder: 10 (tie)
Motor Vehicle Theft: 8
Rape: 2
Robbery: 24

[desert sun]

this is what the article says if you didnt look it up--

No. 3: New Mexico

New Mexico's coiffed tourist image of open desert spaces, Earth-conscious living and colorful hot-air balloons belie a serious crime problem in this border state.

We always make the top 5 every year, but thats NM for ya, home sweet home.

[funkymonkey]

According to the Albuquerque Journal, not all law enforcement agencies report the crime stats to the FBI.

I don't know how accurate, or not, the stats are but I certainly wouldn't base any decisions on them.

[mike0421]

I've lived here for three years now (Las Cruces) and have never witnessed a crime committed. In fact, I know of no one who has been burgularized or had their car stolen, much less the violent crime entries. Perhaps I am living a charmed life, but I feel very fortunate to live here.

[Devin Bent]

I sometimes wonder if this is a stupidity or perhaps honesty index. Any state or locality that is stupid enough to report its crime honestly shows up as crime ridden.

Crime in Texas has been dropping for several years. Is that happening or are they just reporting crime less honestly? Frankly, with apologies to all the Texans, I suspect the latter. After all, remember how Houston brought up its reported educational achievement.

[domino]

I don't think we should gloss over some serious problems associated with poverty in this state. Yes, I believe the great things about NM outweigh the bad, but there are some serious social issues here. Discounting statistics that show NM at the bottom of the good lists, and the top of the bad lists is counter-productive.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by Devin Bent

I sometimes wonder if this is a stupidity or perhaps honesty index. Any state or locality that is stupid enough to report its crime honestly shows up as crime ridden.

Crime in Texas has been dropping for several years. Is that happening or are they just reporting crime less honestly? Frankly, with apologies to all the Texans, I suspect the latter. After all, remember how Houston brought up its reported educational achievement.

Well.....New Mexico has 2 million people.........Texas has 23 million. I don't know whether or not TX does honest reporting, but it has always ranked better than NM as far as crime goes.

But....I always felt safe in TX...and I feel safe where I am now.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by domino

I don't think we should gloss over some serious problems associated with poverty in this state. Yes, I believe the great things about NM outweigh the bad, but there are some serious social issues here. Discounting statistics that show NM at the bottom of the good lists, and the top of the bad lists is counter-productive.

Reasonable people can discuss how accurate statistics are and crime statistics are notoriously inaccurate. The media report them because the media love to report rankings. The on-line media are the worst.

If I go into the data and see zero crime of all types for a particular city, am I supposed to believe that? Shouldn't I question the accuracy of reporting? If a city does report zero, doesn't this suggest that the FBI has no mechanism to enforce accurate reporting? Isn't it reasonable for me to wonder how the FBI makes sense of the resultant mess?

Are we really more crime-ridden than Texas? I have no idea.

To the extent that we cannot discuss the accuracy of statistics, we condemn ourselves to live in ignorance.

Does Henny-Penny have to believe Chicken Little?

Personal stories are not entirely convincing, I will admit. But my wife and I once visited what was described as the most gang-ridden junior high in Santa Fe. We found good-natured kids, well-behaved, and calling us Sir and Ma'am. I've seen elementary schools back east that were scarier.