Saturday, November 23, 2013

Thou Shalt Not Steal


So, where are you most likely to be robbed? It turns out to be South Carolina for the year 2012.  The Palmetto State had the highest theft rate per 100,000 population of any state in 2012 according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data.  Actually, the tiny urban enclave of the District of Columbia had a higher theft rate in 2012, but DC isn't a state.  DC also more closely resembles large US cities so I have excluded it to create this map.

Theft is in fact more common across the southern tier of the US all the way to Arizona and Utah.  Interestingly, the theft rate is lowest in Idaho and New Jersey.

I should add one caveat:  thefts reported to the FBI involve the victim first reporting the crime to the local authorities and then the authorities reporting to the FBI.  So, I should say the reported theft rate.

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