Missouri has one of nation’s highest murder rates

The Show-Me State has one of the nation’s highest murder rates – and it is climbing rapidly.

Missouri had 7.9 murders per 100,000 residents in the period from 2013 to 2017, trailing only Louisiana and Mississippi in national rankings. This represents an increase of 61 percent during that five-year period. These and other statistics were compiled by Safewise, a home security website, in its latest State of Safety report.

Forty-five percent of Missourians are concerned about being murdered by a stranger, while 19 percent worry about being murdered by someone they know.

Three cities account for much of the crime. Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield are considered three of the top 15 most violent cities per capita in the nation, said Tim Garrison, U.S. attorney for Missouri’s Western District. Gov. Mike Parson planned to meet with the mayors of these three cities in Springfield this week, according to Missourinet.

On a positive note, overall, Missouri has only one violent crime per 1,000 people, which is well below the national crime rate of 4.9 per 1,000 people. The two top safest cities – Portageville and California, Mo. – reported no violent crimes in 2017, the latest year in the study.

However, property crime rates exceed the national average. The state experienced 10 more incidents per 1,000 people than the national average. Among the safest cities, only two exceeded the national property crime rate of 27 incidents per 1,000 people. Fifteen percent of respondents reported experiencing a property crime in the past year, compared to 16 percent nationwide.

Among the other findings:

• Nine cities (45 percent ) are among the top 20 safest for the second time this year.
• Eighty percent of the cities on the list reported fewer than five total violent crimes.
• Only one murder and seven reports of rape were reported among all 20 safest cities.
• Thirteen cities had fewer than 100 property crimes and only one topped 200.
• Property crime is the biggest reported safety concern.

The full report, with info in addition to murder rates, is available at HERE.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice