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Is Anchorage the 5th most dangerous U.S. metro area?The pejorative term "Los Anchorage" might have to start including the Mat-Su. According to Forbes, the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough combine to rank as the fifth "most dangerous" metropolitan area in the U.S., slightly less dangerous than fourth-place Flint, Mich., and slightly more dangerous than Lubbock, Tex. Another Michigan metro area, Detroit, was ranked most dangerous in the nation. The rankings resulted from four categories of violent crime in U.S. metros with populations greater than 200,000. The key categories included murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Data came from the FBI's 2010 uniform crime report. According to the greater Anchorage area's specific ranking slide, there were 813 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2010, just slightly higher than cities of comparable size in the rest of the country, but actually double the rate of Alaska at large. The rate of forcible rape and property crime in the area are also double Alaska's statewide rate. Added to all that is a recent survey by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center indicating more than half of all Anchorage women during their lifetimes have been victims of domestic or sexual assault. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Alaska. For a list of resources and ways to help, click here to visit Alaska Women's Aid in Crisis. надежный автопрокат - www.rent-a-car.com.ua Anybody who thinks Anchorage is dangerous doesn't get around much. For sure there's some drug activity that gets people killed, but if you're not in the drug business you're unlikely to be involved. When I lived in San Francisco I actually saw bad stuff happen. I found a teenage girl stabbed in the heart on my front steps. And that was in a nice neighborhood! I saw two karate instructors beat a drunk to death. And three guys attempted to rob me at an ATM. (Thank you Heckler-Koch!) Nothing even remotely similar ever happened to me in Spenard. The drug dealers who lived next door were polite and careful none of their customers parked in my assigned space. The crack heads down below would turn down their music if I asked. It's a totally different world in Anchorage. There's a hard edge to the violence in the lower 48 that is missing up here. I sure was glad when a new job got me back out into the Bush, but don't tell me Anchorage is a cesspool of crime. America is going down the toilet and Anchorage is going along with it. But it's not leading the way. Alaska Dispatch wrote " ... but actually double the rate of Alaska at large. The rate of forcible rape and property crime in the area are also double Alaska's statewide rate." Before making such bold assertions based on numbers taken from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report it would be good to re-read the FBI's caveat regarding the use of the data in the report: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/caution-against-ranking After re-reading the above, you might also want read the statements regarding what sort of sexual offense constitutes a reportable offense under current reporting guidelines (and more importantly, what offenses don't meet the criteria of "forceable rape"). Then take a look at the specific data submitted by individual communities around the State of Alaska. Both can be found here: http://www.dps.state.ak.us/statewide/docs/UCR/UCR_2009.pdf Compare town "A" with a population of 350,000 and 290 completed/attempted forceable rapes (per the above State of Alaska report). Then take town "Z" with a population of 2500 and 12 completed/attempted forceable rapes. That would be roughly 480 forceable rapes per 100,000 population in town "Z", but around 100 per 100,000 population in town "A". Consider the impact even one violent crime has and then reduce the population to the point where everyone knows everyone (victim and perpetrator alike). Finally, please refer to the cautionary statements regarding the masking of regional differences in crime reporting by the author(s) of the last Statewide (vs Municipality of Anchorage) victimization survey: http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/research/2010/1004.victimization/1004.02.avs_leg.pdf Many, many factors, including availability of a law enforcement or other official to report to, the effectiveness of law enforcement where such exists locally, the nature of the offense reported, the relative severity of crimes committed as defined by the reporting structures (State and Federal Uniform Crime Reporting), social, cultural, and economic survival influences, whether or not the victim ever reports in the first place, and on and on, have significant impacts on reporting numbers. In short, this article is far too short and shallow to be making the sweeping statements it has. "In short, this article is far too short and shallow to be making the sweeping statements it has." Very true, and, unfortunately, is typical of local reporting where crime, police and justice are the main issues. A truly investigative report into local policing would be enlightening. Especially considering the way Mayor Sullivan wants to keep cutting APD's budget. It would be nice to see a comprehensive report on how monies are distributed within the APD and who makes those decisions internally. The ADN certainly won't do this kind of reporting, nor will the local TV stations. Perhaps the Dispatch will one day pick up that ball. This is Just another reason why Real Alaskans always insist that Anchorage is at least twenty minutes from Alaska. I mean, I am sorry guys but while I looked pretty hard the last time I visited Anchorage, I failed to see any resemblance to the Alaska I have lived in for more than fifty years. As journalists with the job of informing the public, you might think to give the ranking some context for folks who don't know about or follow crime statistics by explaining that, while not "good", our current rate is part of a long-term downward trend. Which is a "good thing". That apparent increases in various categories (not homicide of course) particularly rape and sexual assault are often trackable to increased reporting by victims, not increases in occurance. Which is also a "good thing" as it demonstrates an improvement in victim's comfort level with reporting the crime rather than being ashamed of it, and an improvement in how seriously the authorities are taking such reports and how respectfully they are treating victims. But "It's bad but continues to get better." doesn't have such an alarmist ring to it headline-wise, does it? Well Matthew, you can have all of your "Good thing" you want. Just keep it in Anchorage! The rest of us like our peace and quiet and tend to be very intolerant of gang bangers in general. Good lord, really? What, were you a philosophy major in college? The philosophy that "it's getting better" isn't likely to fly with the rape or domestic violence victim for whom "better" isn't good enough. The philosophy that you personally weren't murdered this year probably won't mean much to the family mourning a young victim. And since your trailer wasn't burned this year doesn't mean we haven't had a string of trailer fires that are suspicious in origin. Our ranking is shameful, and should be a wake-up call to people like you. Rationalize all you want, man. |
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