Tennessee one of the top most Dangerous States (Memphis, Knoxville: crime rate, living)

[RogueMom]

I am surprised to see that Tennessee was named one of the 12 most Dangerous states in the country as far as violent crime statistics are concerned. These ratings are based on proven statistics that no "PR" snow job can disclaim. I had considered moving back from Montana to Tennessee to be closer to family there, but since I am in one of the top Safest states in comparison, I guess I'll just stay where I am! What in the world is going on back there in the Southern "hospitality" states?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by montanamom

I am surprised to see that Tennessee was named one of the 12 most Dangerous states in the country as far as violent crime statistics are concerned. These ratings are based on proven statistics that no "PR" snow job can disclaim. I had considered moving back from Montana to Tennessee to be closer to family there, but since I am in one of the top Safest states in comparison, I guess I'll just stay where I am! What in the world is going on back there in the Southern "hospitality" states?

This has been discussed in this forum before, just this week.

For starters, to suggest that an entire state is dangerous is absurd. Don't forget that Memphis is in Tennessee, and Memphis all by itself is probably responsible for 1/3 of the crime in Tennessee.

And as LestrMoos posted on 3/28 (yesterday):

"KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- In a crime report just issued by a research firm, Knoxville ranks as the 75th most dangerous city in America.

St. Louis was listed as the most dangerous, of 371 municipalities. The city's violent crime rate surged 20 percent between 2004 and 2005.

Other top dangerous cities are Detroit, Flint, Michigan and Compton, California.

That's according to Morgan Quitno Press, which ranks the nation's safest and most dangerous cities every year, using FBI crime stats.

Knoxville resident Ray Tennant, who was walking through Market Square Monday night, said he was shocked that the study ranked New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco safer than Knoxville.

"We feel very safe here in Knoxville. It's a great downtown and you can easily walk around so yeah, we're a bit surprised at that," Tennant said.

Knoxville police are taking a strong stance against the report. Spokesman Darrell DeBusk told 6 News it uses an unfair comparison of crime data.

KPD uses an incident-based crime reporting system. For example, if someone breaks into a house, stabs someone in the house, vandalizes it, and steals the person's car, Knoxville police report it as four separate crimes.

DeBusk said that's much different than the system the FBI and the research firm use.

"Under the UCR number that the FBI uses, the most serious offense is the one that is going to be counted. So it makes it look like we've had four crimes compared to one in other jurisdictions outside of Tennessee."

Mayor Bill Haslam's office agreed, saying the report is not an accurate reflection of the city's crime rate.

For other Tennessee cities in the report, Memphis ranks as the 13th most dangerous city and Nashville is 39th. "

But if you're still not satisfied and if you still think your life will be in danger if you move to Tennessee, then I agree with you: by all means, stay in Montana. Montana is a beautiful place with some very nice people. And you gotta love those speed limits out there!

[cncguy2000]

No place is safe anymore.....
you just have to make informed decisions on where to live and play.
Nobody has to stay anywhere they don't want. ( unless they are in military or jail ) just have to decide on quality of living.

Just my $.02

[Pearlbob]

Memphis accounts for most of that crime. It's one of the most dangerous cities in the country. So, unless you are moving to Memphis, I wouldn't worry about it.

[puckaroo]

It seems that states with the most population growth are having this problem of increasing crime. Apparently, law enforcement is just not prepared for it. They are not aggressive and proactive enough when they first see the crime rate beginning to rise. I blame this mainly on elected officials, though. They are elected to oversee such matters as public safety and they are failing miserably. They are just not in tune with the problems faced by the vast majority of the population, the average citizens.

It's not just in Tennessee, though. There is a burgeoning crime problem nation wide. What is needed is for those at the top is to take notice of it and declare war on it. When do you ever hear Congress or the president talking about the problem of crime in the U.S? The same goes for national press coverage. When do you ever hear about the need to fight crime in the United States? Crime is something that directly effects U.S. citizens every day and in the worse possible ways, and when it comes to such an important matter as this, there is a dereliction of duty on the part of U.S. elected officials. They are out to lunch.

[Ridgerunner]

Montana is one of the 50 most dangerous states in this country.