Makes sense, Weasel.

I'm also interested in where in Scottsdale the poster who felt uncomfortable was. Scottsdale is pretty "high end" when it comes to homes, stores, hotels, resorts, etc. Fancy stores with no one in then ? Have you been to some of the fancy stores at the Forum Shops in 'Vegas, or at Wynn's new hotel ? No one ever in any of them either. If you were in the large mall in Scottsdale it may have been a work day, most malls are much less crowded during the week.

As for the rich living close to the poor - huh ? Class differences in your face ? What part of Scottsdale were you in ? This is really weird to me.

I've been to Scottsdale 5 times and the only fear I had was being run over by a golf cart or getting trampled by the locals enroute to the early bird special.

just kidding by the way :-)

Nevada + Arizona = 1/2 the size of England.

Which is the safe half of England?

I'd like to know as I plan a trip there and want the safest half of the country.

Starrsville: Sorry, I missed reading your 9:50 post. Problem with reading stuff to quickly.

Here is the original source, the Department of Justice:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

If you go into the link "crime and victim statistics" you can get to the type of info discussed here. There are lots of interesting statistics, but no answers to why crime may be more prevalent in one state than the next.

I think we take a lot for granted in the US. We have a feel for safety because we grew up knowing what to look out for and the questions to ask. We also know that crime is usually associated with certain locales and we avoid them after dark or completely. For the most part, we feel safe. Also, we expect to have to be on our guard in certain areas.

Coming from the outside, reading the crime stats here or watching the news, I think the US might seem pretty darn scary. Plus, one doesn't know specific locales and may be concerned it will be hard to get information on safety upon arriving (rent a car and make the wrong turn....this should be scary for all of us!). I really don't think we should be surprised people ask these questions.

Where'd lynn100 go?

Ok lynn here's how I'd answer your questions"

"I was reading some stas. that said Arizona State was the third unsafest place in US - would you agree or disagree with this?"

I can't argue with stats now can I?
My opinion is that there are places in cities in Arizona that are, no doubt, quite dangerous. Add to that the year round outdoor living and crime has much more "time" to occur. I noticed that the safest states listed are all in the north where we have to isolate ourselves indoors so there is less outdoor time for crime...we're all to busy trying not to freeze to death to hassle one another. I seems to me that warmer climates will always be more "crime prone".

"If so, is one area better than others?"

Outside of the cities, Arizona seems quite safe to me as long as you've got plenty of water and your common sense.

"Which area is the nicest to visit for scenery and sightseeeing?"

Scottsdale is not scenic in any way.

Sedona is all about the scenery (and art galleries). Flagstaff isn't scenic as far as I'm concerned but it is on the way from Sedona to Grand Canyon...the ultimate in scenery.

OK, I admit that I did not read every word of every previous post....BUT

The list of "unsafe" states is interesting.

It does not include:

Louisiana with the crime infested New Orleans.

Michigan with Detroit's extremely high murder rate.

New York or California or Illinois or Pennsylvania, et al with their gang issues in the big cities.

etc., etc....I am leary of that list.

placeu2, you need to look at the list again.

NYC??? Why, just this morning, placeu2, I heard on the news that NYC is the safest city in the U.S.

I can not explain why I felt uncomfortable in Scottsdale. The hotel/resort was gorgeous and I never felt unsafe there.
The mall was like a ghost town with very fancy shops. (Maybe it was a work day). We went a long time ago. I found I also did not like the desert. So that definitely skewed my way of thinking.
There was definitely a class difference to me. I saw very elaborate homes and also some very shack like homes. It seemed to me to be the haves and the have nots.
That is all I have to say. It was just the feeling I had while there.

girlonthego: So you felt uncomfortable in Scottsdale due to the economic stratification, but not because you felt like you'd be the victim of a crime, right? And you didn't like the desert.

But the OP didn't ask about liking the desert or not. And the OP didn't ask about economic stratification. She asked about safety.

Attention Scottsdale fans. Here are stats on Scottsdale's crimerate in comparison to the national average:
http://scottsdale.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm
You can see it is higher than the national average overall, but lower in violent crime, higher in property crime.

The haves and the have nots -- gee I did not know that was unique anyplace in the U.S. Did you watch the Katrina? Those people in N.O. 9th Ward were sure the have nots, Trent Lott with his mansion on the Gulf Coast was one of the haves I'd say. Many many instances of the haves and have nots through the U.S. If you life in a place that had only one kind of people I'd like to know where it is.

Sorry I did not proofread .. I meant to say "the Katrina disaster" and "if you live in a place"

Hey lynn, I visited Scottsdale, AZ two years ago and fell in love with the desert foothills just to the north so much that I bought a condo there. I've gone 8 times in the past year alone- half of those visits by myself and never have I felt unsafe.

Of course, I also don't go looking for trouble by being in parts of town that might make me nervous nor do I go out alone at night.

"...here are the rates of gun homicides per 100,000 population:
USA: 4.08
Canada: 0.54
England/Wales: 0.12
Japan: 0.04"

Thanks, prompted me to look up Australia's number (in 2003 0.28). Deaths by firearms - most are suicides - dropped from 629 to 333 in the decade 1991-2001. The decline was accelerated by stricter gun control laws enacted in 1996.

The discrepancy between Australia and Canada is interesting - I wonder if the popularity of hunting in Canada, ergo higher gun ownership, has anything to do with it?

I think I have a fever...better take my Tempe.

You are a touchy lot aren't you?

My "non-specific" question has certainly stirred up alot of discussion, so much so it makes me wonder who is more concerned about the safety in US cities - you or me? As most of you sound so defensive - why?

This isn't what I had in mind when I asked - as I said I love coming to US and exploring your diverse and beautiful country and we will continue to come and like some of you mentioned I have also visited some of the "So Called Dangerous States" and was absolutely fine - BUT I will say it's probably down to doing a little sensible research first and whats wrong with that.

Orcas - the comment pasted below from you is absolutely true, when you come from the outside and read, hear, see things it is difficult sometimes to read between the lines. You poeple live out there and see these things on daily basis on your news and I believe whilst danger may not cross your daily lives you do become de-sensitised to things going on around you. So why don't you try to see things from a different angle instead of being so insular!

COMMENT FROM ORCAS - Coming from the outside, reading the crime stats here or watching the news, I think the US might seem pretty darn scary. Plus, one doesn't know specific locales and may be concerned it will be hard to get information on safety upon arriving (rent a car and make the wrong turn....this should be scary for all of us!). I really don't think we should be surprised people ask these questions.

The above paragraph is exactly where my question originated from - through not knowing locales, etc. - thats why I was asking you all?

Please try to be more tolerant of us Brits, we are bring tourism into your country and are happy to do so, and I agree our news is showing more violent crime everyday. If I was going to cities in my own country (not just your's)I would still want to be aware of any no-go areas to maximise my safety and enjoyment. Perhaps if more people took care there wouldn't be so much opprtunity for crime!

Just to clarify one other point. I am not so stupid or niaive to think WHOLE states are dangerous. But I have travelled to enough states to know that you can be be in a "safe" area and a couple of wrong turns can change that quickly. It's usually that type of thing that gets a tourist in trouble - because they didn't make an effort to find out.

I was making that effort by asking my question. I admit that I was vague and could have phrased it better, so I apologise for that - I'll be more careful in future.