CRIME RATES IN DIFFERENT STATES
Data on Crimes Committed by Gangs
From 1992 to 2008, a gang survey showed no significant difference by the victims in identifying offenders as belonging to gang membership. In the 2008 survey, only 5% of the victims identified the offender as gang members, but 40% of the victims could not recognize such a trait (Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS], n.d.). From the statistics, many victims cannot identify gang membership in a crime. However, more males could identify gang membership as compared to females (BJS, n.d.).
Florida Crime Statistics
The state of Florida has been having a decline in the crime rate over the past 17 years. The state also has a lower crime rate as compared to other states. For instance, in violent crimes, Florida state had an 8.4% higher violent crime rate in 2016 than the national average (CityRating, n.d.). This is lower than California, one of the safest states, which had a crime rate of 12.16% above the national average. However, as compared to state such as New York, Florida is a criminal hot zone. In the same studies, New York had a violent crime rate of 5.25% lower than the national average (CityRating, n.d.).
Why are certain crimes higher in some states than in other states?
Police policing and the state’s structural environment can make the crime rates higher than other states. For instance, in the 1990s, people in Chicago viewed the laws and law enforcement officers as unresponsive and not well equipped to give public security (PD&R, 2016). Such public view made homicide crimes persist for an extended period since there were no government structures to turn to in times of crime. Chicago also had a weak social and structural environment, with bad leadership and no structural organization, giving criminals a thriving environment.
Factors that influence Crime Rates in the States
Unemployment rates, poverty, and inequality in a state can influence crime rates in a state. In states with many people living in poverty or unemployed, there are high crime rates as some of the poor people turn to criminal activities to get money. Urbanization also affects crime rates. States with large cities are also known to have higher crime rates than rural and suburbs (Kneebone & Raphael, 2011). There is a large concentration of people in cities, and there are prone to be criminals among them. A large population also has more unemployed and organized gangs among society, making crime rates higher.
References
BJS. (n.d.). Gangs. Bureau of Justice Statistics website: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=36.
CityRating. (n.d.). Florida Crime Statistics and Rates Report (FL). CityRating.com website: https://www.cityrating.com/crime-statistics/florida/
Kneebone, E., & Raphael, S. (2011, May 26). City and Suburban Crime Trends in Metropolitan America. Brookings website: https://www.brookings.edu/research/city-and-suburban-crime-trends-in-metropolitan-america/
PD&R. (2016). Neighborhoods and Violent Crime. HUD User website: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/em/summer16/highlight2.html.