Danger, Will Robinson!

 

Huffington Post reported the 10 most dangerous states to live in the U.S. in August, 2014.  The report was based on FBI statistics of violent crimes committed per 100,000 residents.  The tenth most dangerous state had a rate of 463.65 violent crimes per 100,000 people in the year 2012. The #1 most dangerous state statistics were 643.6 per 100,000.

24/7 Wall Street also published a list of the most dangerous states to live in per capita.  Again, the state with the highest violent crime rate was 644 (rounded up) followed by states two (607/100,000) and three (603 per 100,000) in the most likely to get raped, shot or have the crap beaten out of you line-up.

Checking with USA Today, Wall St Cheat Sheet, Law Street Media and the S.F. Examiner, the numbers match up.

Because my nature is to question (damn me!), I checked up on the statistics of our home town. I am not fond of the concept or word "statistics"? I find it objectifies the suffering of men, women and children, turning them into pie charts or algorithms that take the guilt out of profiting at the cost of humanity, yet, the numbers typically don't lie.

Citizens of Redding have had serious concerns about the ever-present and growing threat on our streets. Our town is inundated with newly released felons (Thank you, Governor Brown),  homeless, meth-addicts, heroin addicts and panhandlers.We are the fifth most dangerous town for women in the United States.

We are also smack-dab on the I-5 corridor and therefore, we get a lot of hit-and-split violence.

Our pleasant little town in northern California boasts a 5-year increase in violent crime. In 2005 our rate was 475 (rounded down) per 100,000 which grew to.....wait for it.....797.1 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2010. One hundred and fifty four violent crimes per 100,000 more than the most dangerous state! Property crimes are off the charts.

Hmm. What else is going on here?  Digging....digging.....ah! Twenty-two percent of the population lives below the poverty line as opposed to the national rate of 14%, according to Census Bureau reports.

After further research, I have concluded that as a resident of this fine city, I can only be raped or shot. I cannot have the crap beaten out of me as it has already been scared out of me!  Second conclusion is that pepper spray is a must-accessory when shopping for groceries or checking the mail. Lastly, for our road trip, for safety sake, we will have to rent a car in a town at least 50 miles from here and be airlifted from our home to car rental!

Home Sweet Home!