In the buckle of the Bible belt, one would expect the crime rate to be significantly lower than that of the rest of the country. Although that is the conception generally agreed upon, it is untrue. According to USA Today, the safest state in America is Maine, and the least safe state in America is Louisiana.

    What does this mean for Abilene, Texas? In recent years, the crime rate has shot up by thirty percent in Abilene which is a more drastic change than cities like Brownsville, Waco, Midland, and Corpus Christi, whose crime rates have only grown by twenty percent or less. This means Abilene was within the top ten in the state for crime rate per one hundred thousand residents. That statistic comes from when property crimes and violent crimes are combined. Overall,  there were eight thousand crimes reported, but among those, only sixty-three were related to violence. The overall crime rate in Abilene is twenty three percent higher in comparison to the Texas average, but the violent crime rate is only three percent higher than the state average.

    How can we protect and educate ourselves? For starters, we must become aware of the fact that the rates for violent crime are significantly lower than the rates for property crime. Secondly, residents must understand chief of police, Officer Standridge when he says, “The only way to curb crime moving forward in the community is to join together and take steps to limit opportunities for criminals.”

Photo courtesy of Google.