Irvine, California, and Gilbert, Arizona, remained the two safest cities in the United States with populations over 200,000 for the fourth year in a row. Newcomers to this year’s list included Glendale, California, which previously wasn’t included because its population was below the 200,000 person threshold, and Scottsdale, Arizona, which was not included in the FBI’s statistics last year. While the overall rate of violent crime rose by a small margin in the United States–roughly 3 percent–the safest cities were a mixed bag, with both notable increases and decreases in violent crime rates.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Safest Cities Over 200,000.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

#1 Irvine, California

Image courtesy of Orbitgal via Flickr

Irvine topped the list of  Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000 for the fourth year running. Irvine’s violent crime rate did rise by about 14 percent, but it was not enough to drop the California city from the #1 spot on the list. In raw numbers, Irvine only had 24 more violent crimes in 2015 than in 2014. Irvine’s population also rose, by over six percent. Additionally, Irvine saw two murders in 2015, compared to zero in 2014. The increase in the overall count mainly came from the increased instances of robbery, which rose by almost 60 percent to a total of 58.

Violent Crime Rate:  56/100,000 people*
Murder Rate: 1/100,000 people
Population: 258,198
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:1,272
Rank Last Year: #1

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*Irvine, California switched the way it reports rape incidents during the 2015 calendar year, moving from the FBI’s legacy definition to the FBI’s revised definition, which is more inclusive. For more information about the definition change, click here.

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Rockford, Illinois, is the most dangerous city in the U.S. with a population between 100,000-200,000 people, displacing Little Rock, Arkansas, which now ranks as #2. Tallahassee, Florida moved onto the list at #8 after just missing the cut at #12 last year; Odessa, Texas also moved from #11 to #9. Many of the rest of the positions held steady and only saw small increases or decreases in their violent crime rates.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

#1 Rockford, Illinois

Image courtesy of Alexbaumgarner via Wikimedia Commons

Rockford, Illinois has displaced Little Rock, Arkansas, as the most dangerous city with a population between 100,000-200,000 people. Rockford saw a 28 percent increase in its violent crime rate last year, after a 10 percent decrease the year before. However, Rockford’s murder rate only increased slightly, from 11 per 100,000 people in 2014 to 13 per 100,000 people in 2015. The most dramatic jumps came from increases in the numbers of robbery and aggravated assault, rising by 22 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Violent Crime Rate:  1,585/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 13/100,000 people
Population: 148,178
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:529
Rank Last Year: #2

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated to remedy a spelling issue. 

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

St. Louis, Missouri moved from #4 to #1 this year on Law Street’s list of Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 after its violent crime rate rose by more than 8 percent. As violent crime increased nationally by nearly 4 percent, many cities in the top 10 saw substantial increases. Detroit is #2 on this year’s list, moving down after three consecutive years at the top of the list due to an 11.5 percent decrease in its overall violent crime rate. Notably missing from this year’s list is Cleveland, Ohio, which had ranked #8 on last year’s list. The FBI did not provide information for Cleveland this year, and therefore the city cannot be ranked.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES UNDER 200,000

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES OVER 200,000

#1  St. Louis, Missouri

Image courtesy of Kevin McCoy via Wikimedia Commons

A significant violent crime spike in St. Louis, Missouri put the city at the top of Law Street’s list of the Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000. The violent crime rate in St. Louis went up by more than 8 percent in 2015, going from 1,679 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2014 to 1,817 per 100,000 last year. That increase moved the city up from the #4 spot in last year’s rankings. St. Louis also saw 29 additional murders in 2015, going from 159 in 2014 to 188 in 2015. The city had a murder rate of 59 murders per 100,000 in 2015. Additionally, the number of robberies and aggravated assaults both experienced notable increases last year, going up 15 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Violent Crime Rate:  1,817/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 59/100,000 people
Population: 317,095
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:258
Rank Last Year: #4

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

As we continue our research into the dumbest laws of the United States, let’s have a look now at Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.

I’ve heard of the cliché of throwing tomatoes at comedians who are bombing to the worst degree on stage, but never of throwing eggs at public speakers–an act that is strictly prohibited in Kentucky and punishable by a year in prison. Kentucky seems to have a thing for eggs and birds as the state has also banned dying a duckling blue and offering it for sale unless more than six are for sale at the same time. Really makes you wonder how that law came to fruition…

In Tennessee, you can’t mooch off of your parents’ Netflix account or any one else’s for that matter because it is illegal to share your password. And with regard to technology, you cannot post images online that cause “emotional distress” without “legitimate purpose.”

Tennessee also has a number of strict laws pertaining to minors. For example, students cannot hold hands in school. From what I’ve seen of the public displays put on by students today, hand holding should really be the least concern. It is also illegal to dare a minor to purchase beer, and a misdemeanor to tattoo a minor. So if you have a hankering to open a tattoo parlor in Tennessee, be sure to check ID!

Moving on to Louisiana. For starters, don’t even try to steal an alligator, because if you succeed you can land in jail for ten years. Not worth it if you ask me! Stealing crawfish is also a crime in the state.

A ten-year prison sentence looks like nothing when you compare it to the punishment for urinating in the city’s water supply. Doing so could put you behind bars for 20 years. Speaking of bodily fluids, “rituals that involve the ingestion of blood, urine, or fecal matter” are also illegal. The aforementioned are just a couple of the crimes that result in prison time in Louisiana. A false promise can lead to a year, and every time a prisoner tries to hurt him or herself he or she could serve an additional two years.

Boxing and wresting are taken very seriously in Louisiana. There, fake wrestling matches are prohibited and it is illegal for spectators to mock one of the contestants participating in a boxing match.

“AR-kan-sas?” “Ar-KAN-sas?” You better know how to pronounce the name of this state before heading there, as it is illegal to pronounce it incorrectly. In Little Rock, sandwich shops specifically like their peace and quiet. It is illegal to honk one’s horn at one after nine at night. Also in Little Rock, you cannot suddenly stop your car at a McDonald’s fast food joint.

Some dumb Arkansas laws that appeared on the Internet but could not be validated include that dogs cannot bark after six in the evening, and that it is unlawful to walk one’s cow down Main Street in Little Rock after 1:00 PM on Sundays.

Oh, the fun just doesn’t stop with these laws! Keep your eyes open for the next installment!

Marisa Mostek

Marisa Mostek loves globetrotting and writing, so she is living the dream by writing while living abroad in Japan and working as an English teacher. Marisa received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a certificate in journalism from UCLA. Contact Marisa at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Dumbest Laws of the United States: AR, LA, TN, and KY appeared first on Law Street.