Crime Data Comparison Paper

Crime Data Comparison Paper

The two metropolitan areas I decided to do research on are Chattanooga, Tennessee and

Charlottesville, Virginia. I chose Chattanooga because this is the area where I grew up and still

Live today. I chose to do research on Charlottesville because there is a drastic difference in the

crime rates there compared to Chattanooga. Therefore, this paper will be comparing the burglary

rate between the two metropolitan cities. I will attempt to identify the number of occurrences

reported to the police for each area. I will also explain which area had more reported incidents as

well as what were the rates of the crime for each area. I will explain whether the rates have

changed over time in either area or what factors are involved that might explain the difference in

the burglary rates.

According to research, Chattanooga Tennessee had a whopping rate of 5,356 burglaries

reports that was actually reported to the police in 2009 (Crime in the United States, 2009).

Whereas, Charlottesville Virginia only had 649 cases reported to police the same year (Crime in

the United States, 2009). The incidents reported to police in Chattanooga were significantly

larger number than the incidents reported in Charlottesville. There is a big difference in the

reported incidents between these two metropolitan areas. Therefore, each area has an average

rate of crime.

The rate of crime given for Chattanooga in 2009 was 1,022.6 per 100,000 inhabitants

(Crime in the United States, 2009). However, the rate of crime reported for Charlottesville is

less than half of Chattanooga's rate of crime. It is reported that Charlottesville has a rate of

crime of 328.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009 (Crime in the United States, 2009). The burglary

occurrences in Charlottesville are shown to be much lower than the occurrences in Chattanooga.

However, the burglary rates have changed over time in both areas. According to crime statistics,

the burglary crime rate in 2008 for Chattanooga Tennessee was lower than it was in 2009. In

fact, the burglaries that were reported to police in 2008 was 2,711 (Neighborhood Scout, 2012).

This crime rate breaks down to an average of 16.7 per 1000 residents (Neighborhood Scout,

2012). Burglary rates in Charlottesville Virginia has changed and not shown any

improvement between the years of 2008 and 2009. For instance, in 2008 the crime rate was

lower; research has shown the crime rate was 451.3 (Home Surfer. 2008). Whereas, in 2009 the

burglaries reported to police had jumped too nearly 650 reported incidents. Therefore, both areas

have shown that burglary crime rates are continuing to climb. There are factors involved that

explain the differences in the rates.

There are many factors that might explain the difference in the reported crime rates for

burglaries between the metropolitan areas. For instance, the most important factor could be the