The Dreaded Crime

When I listen to many people from Maryville talking about how much they like it here, they always mention the, "low," crime rate. I admit, it's not a Compton or East Saint Louis, but there are some issues we need worked out. In 2008, there were two murders in three weeks (one was alcohol related and the other was during an intense argument that ended in gunshots). But that is not the point of this post.

Every time I hear that Maryville's a safe place to live in, I wonder what makes it different from major cities, aside from the gaping population gap. One cannot just escape crime; it's everywhere. So why would one want to inconvenience themselves by going to a place with limited jobs and that's 2-3 hours away from the nearest major cities? The answer is almost always the crime rates.

Here, one can find out the individual crimes that took place in Maryville in 2003, according to the FBI. As you can see, not much has really happened. If you click here, however, and scroll over to the Crime Rates tab, you can find that you have a 1/35 chance of being a victim of a crime in Maryville. Compare this to Seattle, Washington, where you have a 1/124 chance. So why isn't everyone looking for a safer place moving to Seattle? The question remains unanswered.

I understand the desire to live away from urban areas, and I understand why people find that Maryville is quite safe because, for the most part, it is. But I do not understand why the only reason to live in a smaller city (which is entirely inconvenient) is because of the low crime rates.

I suppose it all depends on the person. Some parts of Maryville are sketchy.