According to data recently released by the FBI, violent crime declined in 2013, and in both number and rate per 100,000 citizens. Says the FBI in a press release about its latest annual ?Crime in the United States? report:
?The 2013 statistics show the estimated rate of violent crime was 367.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, and the property crime rate was 2,730.7 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate declined 5.1 percent compared to the 2012 rate, while the property crime rate declined 4.8 percent.?
Some states are still far above the national average in violent crimes (murder, non-negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault, robbery, and rape), however. As 24/7 Wall St. notes in its recent assessment:
?Despite the national improvement in crime rates ? as well as significant improvements in some of the most dangerous states ? a number of states were much more dangerous than the rest of the nation. In fact, South Carolina and Delaware had among the largest decreases in violent crime and still had some of the highest violent crime rates in 2013.?
The most dangerous states, ranked by number of violent crimes per 100,000 population, are:
10. Arkansas ? 445.7
9. Florida ? 460.0
8. Maryland ? 467.8
7. Delaware ? 479.1
6. South Carolina ? 494.8
5. Louisiana ? 510.4
4. Tennessee ? 579.7
3. Nevada ? 591.2
2.New Mexico ? 596.7
1. Alaska ? 602.6
Using the same factor as determinant, the 10 safest states are:
10. Montana ? 240.7
9. Minnesota ? 223.2
8. Utah ? 209.2
7. Idaho ? 204.7
6. New Hampshire ? 199.6
5. Kentucky ? 198.8
4. Wyoming ? 197.7
3.Virginia ? 187.9
2.?Maine ? 121.6
1. Vermont ? 114.9
The total count of violent crimes nationwide for 2013 was 1,163,146, the FBI says.
