I ask this question because a few months ago, my Dad and I were driving up Rt. 95, on our way home from Florida. We stayed overnight in a hotel, on the outskirts of Florence, SC. Next morning, we were watching the local news-absolutely horrifying! The news of the day was that an elederly widow had been found murdered in her house! There were also: two unrelated murders, shootings, a stabbing and numerous housebreaks and burgleries! I was horrified-particularly as the local sheriff was on TV, urging people to lock their doors! You would have thought that you were in the middle of a war zone? Since then, I have heard that rural America is indeed experiencing a crime wave! So, are you safer in a city?
Probably not. Think of it this way: Are aligators worse in southern Louisiana than in Central Park, New York?
Well, they aren’t news in Louisiana.
Having lived in Florence, SC for two years (1991-93), I can say that either it’s changed a lot since I was there, or that was a very bad day. Probably the latter.
One data point doesn’t tell you much.
I was going to point out that in a large or even medium-sized city, you won’t find any reports on burglaries. There wouldn’t be time for anything else on the local news. If you need to be told to lock your doors, you’re porbably beyond help. However, I seem to recall an MSNBC report on rising crime in rural ares; I’ll see if I can find it. Of course, rising doesn’t mean high.
Well, it would seem that rural crime has simply fallen at a slower rate than urban and suburban crime, at least through 1998 Apparently the “Scourge of the Heartland” on MSNBC was a bit overstated.