Violent Crime | County Health Rankings & Roadmaps

High levels of violent crime compromise physical safety and psychological well-being. High crime rates can also deter residents from pursuing healthy ... Skiptomaincontent MainMenu Search Search Breadcrumb HomeExploreHealthRankingsMeasures&DataSourcesCountyHealthRankingsModelHealthFactorsSocial&EconomicFactorsCommunitySafety ViolentCrime ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter *AdditionalMeasure(notincludedinranks) ACommunitySafetymeasure ViolentCrime Numberofreportedviolentcrimeoffensesper100,000population. The2022CountyHealthRankingsuseddatafrom2014&2016forthismeasure. About Strategies ExploretheData ReasonforRanking Highlevelsofviolentcrimecompromisephysicalsafetyandpsychologicalwell-being.Highcrimeratescanalsodeterresidentsfrompursuinghealthybehaviors,suchasexercisingoutdoors.Additionally,exposuretocrimeandviolencehasbeenshowntoincreasestress,whichmayexacerbatehypertensionandotherstress-relateddisordersandmaycontributetoobesityprevalence.[1]Exposuretochronicstressalsocontributestotheincreasedprevalenceofcertainillnesses,suchasupperrespiratoryillness,andasthmainneighborhoodswithhighlevelsofviolence.[2]UniformCrimeReporting(UCR)dataisgenerallyregardedasavalidandreliableindexofthetypesofcrimeresidentsviewasseriousevents.[3] KeyMeasureMethods ViolentCrimeisarateViolentCrimeisthenumberofviolentcrimesreportedper100,000population.Ratesmeasurethenumberofevents(e.g.,deaths,births)inagiventimeperiod(generallyoneormoreyears)dividedbytheaveragenumberofpeopleatriskduringthatperiod.Rateshelpuscomparehealthdataacrosscountieswithdifferentpopulationsizes.ThemethodforcalculatingViolentCrimehaschangedInthe2019&2020CountyHealthRankings,only2yearsofdatawereused(2014&2016),duetonon-publisheddatain2015.Previously3yearsofdatawerecombinedtocreatethismeasure.Priortothe2012Rankings,onlyabouthalfofthestateshadreliabledataonviolentcrimes.Fortheotherstates,homiciderateswereusedasaproxymeasure.CrimesarecountedwheretheyarecommittedratherthanbasedontheresidenceofthepersonsinvolvedCrimesarecountedinthepoliceprecinctwheretheyoccur,ratherthantheresidenceofthevictimortheperpetrator.SomedataaresuppressedCountydataaresuppressedif,forbothyearsofavailabledata,thepopulationreportedbyagenciesislessthan50%ofthepopulationreportedinCensusorlessthan80%ofagenciesmeasuringcrimesreporteddata.CautionshouldbeusedwhencomparingtheseestimatesacrossstatelinesCommunitiesshouldtakeintoconsiderationrelevantfactorsinadditiontoanarea’scrimestatisticswhenmakinganyvalidcomparisonsofcrimeamongdifferentlocales.MeasurelimitationsThismeasureonlyincludesthecrimesreportedtopolicethatarethenreportedtotheFBI.Thus,UCRdatamaybecontaminatedbybiaswhencomparedacrossjurisdictions.Dependingonwillingnessofvictimstoreportcrimes,theresponseoflawenforcement,andpotentialbarrierstoFBIUCRreporting,crimescouldbeunderreported.However,forseriouscrimessuchashomicideandrobbery,studieshavefoundthatthedataappeartoaccuratelyreflectrates.[3]NumeratorThenumeratoristhetotalnumberofviolentcrimes.Violentcrimesaredefinedasoffensesthatinvolveface-to-faceconfrontationbetweenavictimandaperpetrator,includinghomicide,rape,robbery,andaggravatedassault.InformationforthismeasurecomesfromtheFBI’sUniformCrimeReporting(UCR)Program.DenominatorThedenominatoristhetotalcountypopulationcoveredbyagencieswhichreportedcrimes. CanThisMeasureBeUsedtoTrackProgress Thismeasurecanbeusedtotrackprogresswithsomecaveats.Thismeasureuses2or3yearsofcombineddata,butoneyearofreliabledataisavailableforlargercounties. DataSource YearsofDataUsed2014&2016 UniformCrimeReporting-FBITheUniformCrimeReporting(UCR)Programwasconceivedin1929bytheInternationalAssociationofChiefsofPolicetomeetaneedforreliable,uniformcrimestatisticsforthenation.In1930,theFBIwastaskedwithcollecting,publishing,andarchivingthosestatistics.Today,severalannualstatisticalpublications,suchasthecomprehensiveCrimeintheUnitedStates,areproducedfromdataprovidedbynearly17,000lawenforcementagenciesacrosstheUnitedStates.TheCountyHealthRankingsusedatafromtheCounty-LevelDetailedArrestandOffenseDatareport. DiggingDeeper Age0Gender0Race0Education0Income0SubcountyArea1Inmoststates,thereisdataonviolentcrimeoffensesreportedbyjurisdictions.Whenavailable,welinktotheseresourcesinourFindingMoreDatasection. References [1]EllenIG,MijanovichT,DillmanKN.Neighborhoodeffectsonhealth:Exploringthelinksandassessingtheevidence.JournalofUrbanAffairs.2001;23:391-408.[2]JohnsonSL,SolomonBS,ShieldsWC,McDonaldEM,McKenzieLB,GielenAC.Neighborhoodviolenceanditsassociationwithmothers'health:Assessingtherelativeimportanceofperceivedsafetyandexposuretoviolence.JournalofUrbanHealth.2009;86:538-550.[3]GoveWR,HughesM,GeerkenMR.AreUniformCrimeReportsaValidIndicatoroftheIndexCrimes?AnAffirmativeAnswerwithMinorQualifications.Criminology.1985;23(3):451-502. Seehowthiscomponentfitsintoourmodel Loadinginteractivemodel… Whenitcomestodevelopingandimplementingsolutionstoproblemsthataffectcommunities,evidencematters.Thestrategiesbelowgivesomeideasofwayscommunitiescanharnessevidencetomakeadifferencelocally.YoucanlearnmoreabouttheseandotherstrategiesinWhatWorksforHealth,whichsummarizesandratesevidenceforpolicies,programs,andsystemschanges. Alcoholoutletdensityrestrictions Limitincreasesinthenumberandconcentrationofalcoholoutletsbyareaorbypopulationthroughlicensingorzoningregulations Learnmore Cognitive-behavioraltherapy(CBT)foroffenders Useindividualorgrouptherapytohelpoffendersdiscoverandchangethethoughtprocessesthatleadtomaladaptivebehavior Learnmore Communitypolicing Implementapolicingphilosophybasedoncommunitypartnership,organizationaltransformation,andproblemsolvingtechniquestoproactivelyaddresspublicsafetyissues:alsocalledcommunity-orientedpolicing Learnmore Drugcourts Usespecializedcourtstooffercriminaloffenderswithdrugdependencyproblemsanalternativetoadjudicationorincarceration Learnmore Earlychildhoodhomevisitingprograms Provideat-riskexpectantparentsandfamilieswithyoungchildrenwithinformation,support,andtrainingregardingchildhealth,development,andcarefromprenatalstagesthroughearlychildhoodviatrainedhomevisitors Learnmore Familytreatmentdrugcourts Usespecializedcourtstoworkwithparentsinvolvedinthechildwelfaresystemwhomaylosecustodyoftheirchildrenduetosubstanceabuse Learnmore Firearmlicensinglaws Requireapotentialpurchasertoobtainapermitorlicensebeforepurchasingafirearm Learnmore Focuseddeterrencestrategies Targetaparticularcrimethroughlawenforcementandcommunityagencycooperationandcoordinationofvariousdeterrentsandsocialservices;alsocalledpullingleverspolicing Learnmore FunctionalFamilyTherapy(FFT) Introduceashort-termfamily-basedinterventiontherapyfocusedonstrengths,protectivefactors,andriskfactorsforyouthwithdelinquency,violence,orsubstanceabuseproblems,andtheirfamilies Learnmore Hotspotpolicing Focuspoliceresourcesandenforcementonhigh-activitycrimelocationswithinacommunity(e.g.,streetblocksandbuildings)usingpolicingtacticssuchasincreasingenforcementtime,problem-orientedpolicing,etc. Learnmore ViewAll TheCountyHealthRankingsprovideasnapshotofacommunity’shealth andastartingpointforinvestigatinganddiscussingwaystoimprovehealth. 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