Florida has garnered the dubious distinction of ranking #8 on a popular website’s most dangerous states list. The report, by 24/7 Wall St. is compiled of raw crime statistics released by the FBI. Murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery were focused on to find an average of 487.1 violent crimes in these categories per 100,000 people.
Without a doubt Florida holds the top spot for bizarre crimes, which some attribute to the state’s transient status. People come to Florida from all over the world; often without a familial support system to keep them in line. Tennessee holds the top spot on this list, with the most violent crimes of any state. Also ranking in the top 10 are Louisiana, South Carolina, and a surprising appearance by Alaska; a state with relatively low violent crime rates except for rape, the state has one of the highest rape statistics in the entire country!
Even though the state is ranked as one of the most dangerous, violent crime has steadily decreased over the last 20 years. The state’s high school graduation rates, which once clocked in at just over half, have jumped nearly 20%; a statistic factored into the website’s computation of the ranking. Despite the overall state reduction in crime, the national average of violent crime is decreasing at a higher rate.