Monday, November 23, 2009

Most Dangerous Cities 2009




I am not necessarily surprised to find out that my City, Jackson, MS, ranks 9th in crime in the U.S.  Many of the cities nearest Jackson, such as Memphis, Birmingham, and New Orleans, rank high as well. I do not know what it is about the South. Perhaps we have more poor.....actually that is a known fact...we do have more poor.  Is that it?  More poor = more crime. I guess that makes sense.

Now. What do we do about it?  If nothing, then why do we care?  So the wealthy can move somewhere else and leave the poorer/ higher crime areas to get poorer and higher in crime? Why drum up the statistics every year if nobody cares?  Of course we care. At least I care.  We just don't know where to start.  Thankfully, I happen to have a few ideas.

Seven things you can do today to decrease crime in your city:

1.Get to know your neighbors
2.Find the area of your city that seems to be the "poorest". Get to know some of these folks, too. Do they have any fears? What is the main difference between you and them?
3.Talk to leaders in your area. What are they concerned about? What do they need from you?
4. Look for good news about your town and share it!
5.Give to local charity and/ or volunteer
6. Look strangers in the eye and smile!
7. Encourage other citizens to do these same things
Always be safe, and remember to help others who are less fortunate than you every chance you get. That feels much better than being the victim of a crime.

Learn how to protect yourself:  http://snipurl.com/personal_safety

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