Crime Data Comparison Paper Essay

The two metropolitan areas I have decided to do my research paper on are Cincinnati, Ohio and Dallas, Texas. I choose Cincinnati because it is one of the bigger cities where I live. I choose Dallas because there seems to be a big difference in crime rates compared to Cincinnati. In this paper I will be comparing the burglary rate between these two cities. I will identify the number of burglaries reported to the police in each area and also explain which area had more reported burglaries as well as what were the rates of the crimes in each area. I will also explain whether the rates have changed at all and look into what factors that might be involved that might explain the difference in the burglary rates. Looking at the research, Cincinnati, Ohio had a rate of 6,287 burglaries that were reported to police in 2009 (Crime in the United States, 2009). Dallas, Texas on the other hand had 19,428 burglaries in that same year. The rate of crime given for Cincinnati in 2009 was 375.1 occurrences per 10,000 persons (Crime in the United States, 2009). Dallas by comparison had a crime rate of 1505.7 occurrences per 100,000 people. According to the crime statistics, crime in Dallas, Texas is down 6.4 percent from 2008 and Cincinnati has one of the highest crime rates in the country compared to all communities of all sizes. Ones chance of becoming a victim of property crime is one in twelve. (NeighborhoodScout, 2012). There are many factors that could explain the differences in the crime rates between these two cities. One factor could be the difference in population. The population in Cincinnati is 296,943 within the city limits according to the 2010 census. (Crime in the United States, 2009) whereas in Dallas, Texas the population is 1,197,816 according to 2010 censes. When you look at the numbers the more people living in an area the higher the crime rate will be. There are also other factors that could explain the big differences between these cities. The ethnic and racial makeup of the people living there and their educational levels could be a big difference. To really explain the increase or decline in both these cities is difficult because the two areas that I choose are so very different in population is really the biggest difference. In conclusion, in comparing both these big cities Cincinnati is showing an increase in the number of burglaries and almost every other crime as for Dallas, the crime rate there is down 6.4 percent. With the population in Dallas being 1,197,816 and Cincinnati’s population being 296,943 people would think that Dallas would be a city full of crime but Cincinnati is far worse. According to NeighborhoodScout . com, on a scale of 100 to 1(100 is the safest) Cincinnati rates just a two. This scale shows that Cincinnati is just safer then two percent of the cities in the United States of America. There are many factors that could explain why Cincinnati has one of the fasting growing crime rates in the nation. One could be the economy where there is nine percent unemployment in the city alone. Another factor could be the racial and ethnic makeup of the city. Looking at the Dallas, Texas crime rates, it rates a six in the crime index (NeighborhoodScout.com). This means that Dallas, Texas is safer than six percent of the cities in the United States. In Dallas there were 8,341 violent crimes and 63,022 property crimes compared to Cincinnati’s 3,087 violent crimes and 20,911 property crimes. Looking at how big Dallas is compared to Cincinnati you would think that there would be more crimes per 1,000 residents but it is not even close. In Cincinnati there are 10.42 crimes per 1,000 residents compared to Dallas’s 6.82 annual crimes per 1,000 residents. When you compare Cincinnati with Dallas, the crime index, population, and the crime rates going up or down, Dallas to me would be the safer of the two cities to live in. References Crime in the United States of America. (2009). February, 2012 http://www.2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_06.html Neighborhood Scout. (2012) http:/www.neighborhoodscout.com/Cincinnati/crime http:/www.neighborhoodscout.com/Dallas/crime