Do the research - violent crimes in the NE are over twice as high as the South. Source file: FBI 2002
When I clicked your link I got the dreaded "Page cannot be found" message.
FBI Crime Statistics The most recent nationwide FBI Crime Statistics ranks New York City ranks 160th in crime out of 205 American cities, making it the safest city with a population of over 1 million people in America. When the report was released, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani congratulated Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, the men and women of the New York City Police Department, and community members for continuing to reduce crime in New York City. New crime statistics comparing January to June 2000 to a comparable time in 1999 released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Uniform Crime Report show that total index crime fell 0.3% nationwide between January and June 2000, while New York City’s decline was 5.7%. In the Northeast region as a whole, crime declined by 1.2% over the same period. “Every year we face the same skepticism,” Mayor Giuliani said. “People say it’s impossible to reduce crime any further after having already reduced it so much. And every year, the men and women of the NYPD prove the skeptics wrong.” “The continuing reductions in crime reflected in this latest FBI study reaffirm what many have come to expect of the NYPD-it is simply the best law enforcement agency in the country,” Police Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik said. “I also want to congratulate the men and women of the Department for their continuing dedication and performance.” The FBI’s UCR also shows that among the eight cities with populations greater than one million surveyed by the FBI (Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego) New York City continues to show the lowest crime rate. Among the 205 American cities with populations over 100,000, New York City ranks 160th in total crime. The FBI’s report is comprised of crime data from jurisdictions with populations of over 100,000 for the first half of calendar year 2000, with the number of cities reporting varying slightly from year to year. Specifically, New York City continues to be safer than cities such as St. Louis (which has the highest crime rate in the nation), Atlanta (which ranks 2nd), Orlando (3rd), Dallas (13th), Phoenix (38th), Houston (60th), San Antonio (63rd), Philadelphia (82nd), Boston (96th), San Francisco (113th), Los Angeles (135th), and San Diego (157th). The report also shows that over the same period New York City posted the largest crime decline of the seven cities in New York State with populations over 100,000. In fact, of the other six cities – Albany, Amherst, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, only Yonkers experienced a decline, of 3.7%. In addition, among these seven cities, New York City is the third safest, with only Yonkers and Amherst having lower per capita crime rates.
For the year 2001, violent crime in the Northeast was 429.7 per 100,000 of population and property crime was 2577 per 100,000 (that doesn't count the criminal tax rates of some states ;~)
In the same year, the South saw a violent crime rate of 579.9 per 100,000 and a property crime index of 4281 per 100,000. That's 26% and 40% higher respectivly than the Northeast.
By pure statistics, the South has far more crime than the Northeast. It could be a factor of better reporting but I would doubt that would account for all of the difference. I would say that there are some social-economic factors that drive those numbers higher in the South.