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What are the safest cities in Mississippi?

Three cities in northwest Mississippi are ranked in the top 10.
Credit: AP

MISSISSIPPI, USA — SafeWise recently released its seventh annual Safest Cities report. According to their list, 3 cities in northwest Mississippi are in the top 10: Horn Lake (3), Olive Branch (5), and Southaven (7). According to SafeWise, the top 10 safest cities in Mississippi for 2021 are:

1. Madison
2. Brandon
3. Horn Lake
4. Ocean Springs
5. Olive Branch
6. Ridgeland
7. Southaven
8. Gautier
9. Hattiesburg
10. D’Iberville

SafeWise said, “In our 2021 State of Safety survey, 45% of Mississippians expressed that they had high levels of concern daily, which is just below the 47% average among Americans on the whole. This result is seven points lower than last year (52%). Still, the state's safest cities generally have lower crime rates than the rest of The Magnolia State.

Although there was a notable decrease in daily levels of high concern, respondents reported a strong increase in personal experiences with gun violence year over year. The survey results also showed modest decreases in experiences with violent crime and property crime—but Mississippi stayed above the national average in each category.”

Regarding 2021 crime rates in Mississippi, SafeWise went on to say, “For the first time in years, Mississippi's violent crime rate experienced an uptick from 2.3 per 1,000 people to 2.8—this is the biggest increase of any state and higher than levels reported two years ago (2.6). In contrast, the state's property crime rate continued to decrease this year—from 24.0 per 1,000 to 23.8.

Within the East South Central region, Mississippi had the second-lowest violent crime rate behind Kentucky (2.2). The Magnolia State also trailed Kentucky (19.0) with the second-lowest property crime rate in the region.

Despite a decrease in property crimes year over year, Mississippi stayed above the national average while its increased violent crime rate remained below the US average. Among all 50 states, Mississippi had the fourteenth-lowest violent crime rate and the seventeenth-highest property crime rate."

SafeWise added, “Mississippi's rise in violent crimes over the last year tracks with increased reports of gun violence from our survey respondents. Overall, a slim majority of respondents say they feel safe in their home state, which is among the bottom third of US states with the lowest violent crime rates. Residents also seem less trusting of law enforcement and worry more than average Americans about police violence.

  •     51% of Mississippi residents reported feeling safe in their state compared to 55% of Americans.
  •     16% of survey respondents reported having a personal experience with violent crime in the past 12 months—this is 2% lower than last year.
  •     Like most states, murder is the least common violent crime in The Magnolia State, making up just 4% of violent crimes—murder in the state's 5 safest cities averaged 4%. Unlike most states, murder is more common than the US average of 1%.
  •     Rape makes up 9% of violent crimes in Mississippi, but the 5 safest cities had a relative high number of incidents at 18%.
  •     49% of survey participants report using some form of personal protection like stun guns or pepper spray—making Mississippi residents 1.4 times more likely to do this than the national average of 34%.
  •     49% of Mississippians say their personal safety has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 44% of Americans.

Click here to learn how SafeWise determined its list.

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