It made statements that the County is a very dangerous place to live. This looks pretty bad for us. So bad that Belen recently revised their numbers (due to a clerical error) for the FBI.http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/67450-12-16-06.html It didn't help much, they still "rank" poorly.
These numbers make great news stories. They get us all riled up.
Taken at face value these kinds of "rankings" can be pretty frightening. They can affect our economy negatively. What business wants to locate to a high crime area? Who would buy a home there?
My question is, what does the FBI say about crime rankings? A quick look at their website revealed this excerpt:
Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities—news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation—use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region. Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/index.html
Perhaps we should take those that try to get us all worked up over how BAD things are a little less seriously.
I will post the results of my research into Bosque Farms "rankings" when I get them all together. Just remember when I do..... they are just numbers. They cannot accurately reflect the relative safety of any single person.
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