THE FOLLOWING STORY IS MAKING THE ROUNDS OF THE NEWS OUTLETS ACROSS TENNESSEE.. IT INCLUDES THE ORIGINAL PICTURES EMAILED TO RADIO AND TV STATIONS, AND NEWSPAPERS IN THE STATE. PLEASE SEE THE REBUTTAL BELOW IT, AND THE ANALYSIS FROM YOUR DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR BELOW THAT:
Home Security Shield News Report: 17 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN TENNESSEE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2014
What are the most dangerous cities in Tennessee? To get the lowdown on the cities in Tennessee that are the most dangerous with the highest crime rates, we consulted the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report. Our rankings are based solely on the data publicly released each year by the FBI. A crime is a crime, so we took both violent and property crimes into account when compiling our list of Tennessee’s most dangerous cities.*
We realize that this topic is inherently controversial in nature and hits close to home. We are aware that there are many different ways to present this data, but when compiling this list we chose to consider not just murder rate, but both violent and property crimes. Check each city listing to get a general idea of the city’s ranking in terms of just violent criminal offenses. Only cities with violent crime rates over 7.0 were included.
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Crossville, TN
Population: 10,993
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 14.83 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 101.79 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 116.62 per 1,000 residents
Crossville has a crime rate of about 117 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Crossville? One in 9.
Crossville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #2
These statistics make Crossville the most dangerous city in Tennessee.
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Athens, TN
Population: 13,632
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 12.47 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 86.41 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 98.88 per 1,000 residents
Athens has a crime rate of about 99 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Athens? One in 10.
Athens’ ranking when considering only violent crimes?
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Memphis, TN
Population: 657,436
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 17.50 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 63.13 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 80.63 per 1,000 residents
Memphis has a crime rate of about 81 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Memphis? One in 12.
Memphis’ ranking when considering only violent crimes? #1
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Dyersburg, TN
Population: 17,223
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 10.68 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 66.77 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 77.45 per 1,000 residents
Dyersburg has a crime rate of about 77 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Dyersburg? One in 13.
Dyersburg’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #7
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Knoxville, TN
Population: 182,254
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 9.73 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 66.77 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 76.50 per 1,000 residents
Knoxville has a crime rate of about 77 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Knoxville? One in 13.
Knoxville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #9 (correction)
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Greeneville, TN
Population: 15,295
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 7.58 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 66.17 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 73.75 per 1,000 residents
Greeneville has a crime rate of about 74 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Greeneville? One in 14.
Greeneville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #14
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Manchester, TN
Population: 10,226
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 8.02 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 59.46 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 67.48 per 1,000 residents
Manchester has a crime rate of about 67 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Manchester? One in 15.
Manchester’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #12
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Kingsport, TN
Population: 49,639
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 7.39 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 59.43 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 66.82 per 1,000 residents
Kingsport has a crime rate of about 67 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Kingsport? One in 15.
Kingsport’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #15
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Jackson, TN
Population: 65,725
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 14.79 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 49.39 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 64.18 per 1,000 residents
Jackson has a crime rate of about 64 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Jackson? One in 16.
Jackson’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #3
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Cleveland, TN
Population: 42,068
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 8.82 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 52.89 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 61.71 per 1,000 residents
Cleveland has a crime rate of about 62 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Cleveland? One in 16.
Cleveland’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #10
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Springfield, TN
Population: 16,776
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 10.49 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 46.67 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 57.16 per 1,000 residents
Springfield has a crime rate of about 57 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Springfield? One in 17.
Springfield’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #8
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: East Ridge, TN
Population: 21,435
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 7.04 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 49.31 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 56.36 per 1,000 residents
East Ridge has a crime rate of about 56 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in East Ridge? One in 18.
East Ridge’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #17
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: McMinnville, TN
Population: 13,746
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 8.08 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 46.85 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 54.93 per 1,000 residents
McMinnville has a crime rate of about 55 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in McMinnville? One in 18.
McMinnville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #11
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Nashville, TN
Population: 620,886
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 12.16 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 41.96 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 54.12 per 1,000 residents
Nashville has a crime rate of about 54 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Nashville? One in 18.
Nashville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #5
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Brownsville, TN
Population: 10,201
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 10.88 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 41.47 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 52.35 per 1,000 residents
Brownsville has a crime rate of about 52 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Brownsville? One in 19.
Brownsville’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #6
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Lebanon, TN
Population: 26,991
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 7.30 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 42.13 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 49.42 per 1,000 residents
Lebanon has a crime rate of about 49 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Lebanon? One in 20.
Lebanon’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #16
Dangerous Cities in Tennessee: Columbia, TN
Population: 35,203
Annual Crimes Per 1,000 Residents
Violent Crimes: 8.01 per 1,000 residents
Property Crimes: 38.69 per 1,000 residents
Total Reported Crimes: 46.70 per 1,000 residents
Columbia has a crime rate of about 48 per one thousand residents.
Your chance of becoming a victim of a crime in Columbia? One in 21.
Columbia’s ranking when considering only violent crimes? #13
Other cities of interest: Chattanooga, TN was not included in the 2012 FBI Crime Report. Older crime statistics indicate that if it had it most likely would have been included in our rankings.
Note: We use a standard computational formula to calculate our crime rates. This same formula is used by various state government criminal justice departments to calculate crime rate.
VIOLENT CRIMES + PROPERTY CRIMES = TOTAL REPORTED CRIMES
TOTAL REPORTED CRIMES / POPULATION * 1000 = CRIME RATE
*Only cities included in the 2012 FBI UCR with populations of 10,000 or higher and violent crime rates over 7.00 were considered for our rankings.
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THIS POST WAS RECEIVED BY YOUR DOUGLASS WEBSITE FROM THE KINGSPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT, IN RESPONSE TO KINGSPORT'S ALLEGED "NUMBER 8" RANKING FROM HOME SECURITY SHIELD IN THE ABOVE ARTICLE. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BELOW ARE THOSE OF THE KINGSPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND IT PROMPTED OUR OWN REVIEW, SEPARATE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AT THE VERY BOTTOM:
DATE:September 19, 2014
Earlier this week, the Kingsport Police Department became aware of an Internet link that has been circulating across the State of Tennessee via e-mail and various social media applications. This link (the article above -- Editor) directs the user to an article entitled “17 Most Dangerous Cities in Tennessee.” In the article, the City of Kingsport is purported to be the eighth most dangerous city in the State of Tennessee. The same article also claims that Crossville, known as the “Golf Capital of Tennessee,” is the most dangerous city in the State of Tennessee, ranking even higher than Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis which is of course preposterous.
Anyone who receives this link can easily navigate back to the originating website’s homepage and learn that the article is actually nothing more than a shameless sales pitch by a private company with the goal of selling home security systems. The obvious intent of the article is to deliberately frighten citizens across the state of Tennessee into a false belief that they live in a dangerous community, and in turn drive them to purchase an alarm system. It is a marketing ploy, plain and simple.
Many more factors than just crime statistics play a role in the overall safety of any given city. Under the leadership of the Kingsport Area Safety Council and its member agencies, hospitals, businesses, and industries, the City of Kingsport and Sullivan County, TN hold the designation of being an internationally recognized “Safe Community” by the National Safety Council and the World Health Organization. Had Kingsport been the eighth most dangerous city in the state, it would not have been considered for this esteemed award.
The Kingsport Police Department wishes to assert that Kingsport has always been, is now, and will continue to be a safe place to live, work, and play. Make no mistake…Kingsport is not the fictitious “Mayberry” of the Andy Griffith Show fame. Crime does happen in Kingsport; however, the Kingsport Police Department makes every effort to predict it, prevent it, and when it does happen, swiftly bring those criminals who commit it to justice. Citizens are encouraged to refer to legitimate sources of information, such as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crimes in Tennessee Report, for crime statistics rather than believing urban legends circulated by e-mail and social media.
Does the Kingsport Police Department recommend home security systems to its residents? Absolutely! However, a home security system is only one element of a much larger plan. Good lighting, deadbolts, keeping valuables out of plain sight, Neighborhood Watch, and many other factors all play into an overall crime prevention strategy. And these are techniques that any law enforcement officer in any city in the world, regardless of the crime rate, would recommend. While the Kingsport Police Department cannot endorse any one particular home security company, we certainly would not recommend one that attempts to dupe citizens into buying from their company by using sensationalism to instill them with a false sense of fear.
The Kingsport Police Department makes every effort to maintain a transparent relationship with the Citizens of Kingsport. As such, the following narrative was issued in an official K.P.D. news release this past May and deserves repeating:
When comparing the 2013 data to that of the previous year, the Kingsport Police Department saw a 17.45% decrease in the more serious crimes known as Group A Offenses, which include some of the most violent crimes such as Murder, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery. There was also a 26.4% decrease in domestic violence incidents and a 27.96% decrease in simple assaults. The vast majority of property crimes, such as Arson, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Vandalism, showed significant reductions as well.
Two additional improvements pertaining to violent crime are noteworthy. Regarding the crime of murder, there were zero incidents reported in the City of Kingsport during 2013 as opposed to a total of two in 2012. And, there was a 30.43% reduction in weapon law violations from 2012 to 2013.
Not only are less crimes being reported to the Kingsport Police Department, the department is also doing an even better job at solving these crimes. The Kingsport Police Department’s 2013 overall clearance rate was 41.49% which is not only an improvement over K.P.D.’s 2012 clearance rate of 37.04% but also exceeds the 2013 State of Tennessee overall clearance rate of 39.92%.
One likely contributing factor in this recent crime downtrend is K.P.D.’s participation in the State of Tennessee’s Targeted Community Crime Reduction (TCCR) Grant. This grant has funded hundreds of additional law enforcement man-hours strategically placed in the traditionally higher crime areas of the city. There can be little doubt that increased police visibility is a significant deterrent to criminal activity.
To view the 2013 Crimes in Tennessee Report, visit the following link:
http://www.tbi.state.tn.us/tn_crime_stats/publications/2013%20Crime%20in%20Tennessee%20%28SECURE%29.pdf
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DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR'S NOTE ON THE HOME SECURITY SHIELD REPORT:
UPON FURTHER REVIEW BY THE DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR, the 2013 Crime Figures quoted from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the Kingsport PD's story, are the latest figures, and therefore more accurate than the FBI's 2012 figures quoted in the Home Security Shield story. Those figures are two years old.
ALSO, the pictures for Manchester, TN and East Ridge, TN ARE INCORRECT.. Manchester, TN does not have buildings that tall; and the East Ridge picture is actually downtown Chattanooga, TN. Note, too, that in the picture of downtown Brownsville, TN, downtown Brownsville only consists of 2 buildings; and Dyersburg, TN has no identifying landmarks in its picture.
FURTHER... Home Security Shield apparently does not have a readily-accessible report history, either under its own name or a dba (doing business as), from the Better Business Bureau.
AS A RESULT OF THESE FINDINGS, please consider the recent figures from the TBI, and the advice above from the Kingsport Police Department, when making your home security decisions. Do not be impressed by statements, figures and pictures that could be designed to scare you into making quick decisions about protecting your home, without investigating the claims FIRST. Do not be pressured into signing a home security contract, without checking out the company FIRST.
-- DOUGLASS WEBSITE EDITOR
