Louisiana regains its title as the Most Dangerous State

LAWRENCE, KS — Louisiana is back! After spending two years out of the #1 spotlight, the Bayou State has reclaimed its title as 1998’s Most Dangerous State. At the opposite end of the scale, the appropriately-named Peace Garden State of North Dakota is America’s Safest State for the second year in a row. The announcement of the fifth annual crime awards was made by Scott Morgan, President of Morgan Quitno Press, an independent research and publishing company specializing in annual reference books of state and city statistics and rankings.

"Louisiana topped our Most Dangerous State lists in 1994 and 1995," said Morgan. "But then it dropped to second place in 1996 and to third in 1997. This year Louisiana has roared back to the top, ranking first over Florida and last year’s winner, Nevada."

The fifth annual Most Dangerous State distinction is based on six basic crime factors taken from Crime State Rankings 1998, the recently-published, updated edition of Morgan Quitno's 552-page annual reference book. Factors considered were rates per 100,000 population for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. Factors were weighted to reflect crimes Americans fear the most. A complete description of the methodology is available from Morgan Quitno Press.

Taking second place honors behind Louisiana was Florida (which ranked second last year as well) followed by Nevada in third, Maryland in fourth and New Mexico in fifth place. On the opposite end of the rankings scale immediately preceding the Safest State of North Dakota, were New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and South Dakota. Each of these five states had the same high safety rankings in last year’s survey.

"For each of the past five years Louisiana has had the highest murder rate in the country," Morgan said. "In contrast, for those same five years, North Dakota consistently has had among the lowest murder rates in the country."

Morgan did note that Louisiana is making some headway in reversing its high crime rates. Single year comparisons show that the violent crime rate in Louisiana decreased nearly eight percent from 1995 to 1996, the most recent years for which state crime statistics are available from the FBI.

The Most Dangerous/Safest State Award is one of four designations announced annually by Morgan Quitno in conjunction with publication of its annual reference books. The company's other annual announcements designate the nation’s Safest City and Metro Area (awarded in conjunction with MONEY Magazine), the Most Livable State and the Healthiest State.

Additional information about the 1998 Most Dangerous/Safest State Awards is available through the Morgan Quitno website at www.morganquitno.com. Included is a list of factors, an explanation of methodology, a table showing how each of the 50 states ranks for each of the six categories considered for the award, a historical view of how each state ranked for the past five years and general corporate information. For further inquiries, please telephone Morgan Quitno Press at (785) 841-3534.