Posted on 04/07/2011 12:54:17 PM PDT by ruination
In the first-ever state ranking of peace in the United States, the Institute for Economics and Peace found that Maine was the most peaceful state in the country, while Louisiana came in last.
The international think tank, which also issues an annual Global Peace Index, found that the United States is 8 percent more peaceful in 2009 than it was in 1995.
The United States Peace Index defines "peace" as the "absence of violence."
To determine the rankings, the index looked at factors including homicide rates, violent crimes, percentage of the population in jail, number of police officers and availability of small arms.
The Index also estimates the "total cost of violence" for each state which reflects the cost of correctional and policing services, judicial system and medical costs associated with violent crime and homicide, and lost productivity and wages. In Maine, that total cost per person is $656; in Louisiana it is $2,458.
Regionally, southern states were the least peaceful, and states in the northeast were the most peaceful. During the years examined, New York experienced the most significant increase in peace, because violent crime dropped as well as incarceration rates. California and Texas also had increases in peace since 1991, while North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana saw the largest declines.
The ranking also found that peace was significantly correlated to economic opportunity, education and health, but is politically neutral - neither Republican nor Democratic states had an advantage.
Top 10 most peaceful states:
1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. Vermont
4. Minnesota
5. North Dakota
6. Utah
7. Massachusetts
8. Rhode Island
9. Iowa
10. Washington
Top 10 least peaceful states:
1, Louisiana
2. Tennessee
3. Nevada
4. Florida
5. Alabama
6. Texas
7. Arkansas
8. Oklahoma
8. South Carolina
10. Maryland<
For the complete ranking, click here.
Tennessee ranks 49th, imagine that...
Where’s the war in Tennessee? I must have missed it.
Whaddya say we knock off a liquah stah?
Are you kiddin' me? In this weathah?
Well, the gun-loving/clinging south is well represented I see.
I have been looking for it myself. Heck, I even have my own Army truck, an old M35A2 deuce and a half.
So what the the rankings looked like if you weren't prejudiced against gun ownership?
I wish they would ‘define’ peaceful.
I grew up in Queens and now live in Texas.
Texas is a hell of a lot more peaceful than New York.
My definition of peace is when American Exceptionalism is restored and our enemies fear us (better yet when our enemies are vanquished). If it takes violence to achieve that goal, so be it.
I guess someone shot a man in Memphis.
8% more peaceful??
What is this, a Monty Python sketch?
“Do we have any figures on just how scared they are?”
Yeah, you just gotta know those guns are busy whispering amongst themselves, ready to carry out their own rebellion, the way the toys came to life in the mythical song of the toy shop when the toymaker locked it up for the night.
No wonder there’s so much “war” in Tennessee.
I take it you don't live in Houston or in one of the border towns. Comparing Queens to the rest of New York state is not fair. There are lots of peaceful, quiet little towns in NY State just like there are in Texas. But both states also have their crime hell holes.
Major cities in Texas has some of highest per captia crime in the U.S.
I wonder how that is factored in? Wouldn't it make more sense to use gun crimes committed with small arms as the factor?
Arizonans have free access to all kinds of weapons and we didn't make either list, we ranked 37. While our freaky gun control neighbor California ranked 33rd.
What ought to be ranked is counties, not states, and forget about the bare availability of guns, what matters is how the people in that locale use them.
They had to account for the University of Tennessee football team.
Just being in the USA means it’s easy to get a gun (Mexico would be in that category too). It’s kind of like how door locks are mostly there to stop trivial mischief makers, not serious criminals.
The Morgan Quitno have a number of New York cities listed among the 25 Safest Cities Areas of 2010 with Colonie, NY at the top of the ranking. Both Texas and New York are represented in that safe city list with New York netting 5 and Texas with 4.
The list of the 25 most dangerous cities all fit the expected profile. Determining just what that "profile" might be is left as an exercise...
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