While LV is rated safe, Nevada is among most dangerous states

Mary Manning and Ed Koch

Friday, April 25, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

Las Vegas may be one of the safest larger cities in America, but Nevada is one of the most dangerous states, a national research and publishing company says.

No, there is not a rampant crime wave washing over the smaller northern cities or rural counties, but rather the paradox is the result of a statistical oddity, said an official for Morgan Quitno Press of Lawrence, Kan., whose annual study traditionally ranks Nevada among the most dangerous states.

The latest study, released today, says that next to Louisiana, Nevada is the most dangerous state in the nation based on reported crimes. In December Morgan Quitno ranked Las Vegas as the 10th safest city among 30 cities with populations of a half-million or more. Both rankings were based on 2001 data.

"In December Las Vegas ranked high for safe large cities, but overall it was 233 out of 335 cities of all sizes," Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno, said.

"Las Vegas also benefited statistically because it has a metropolitan police force, so its suburbs, which are low in crime, are factored into its overall crime statistics. Cities such as Newark, N.J., include only the city core, where crime is highest, but its suburbs have their own police departments."

The Metro Police jurisdiction includes the city and unincorporated Clark County.

Still, local experts question the way Morgan Quitno analyzes the numbers.

Hal Rothman, chairman of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, history department, said that the poor state ranking isn't a surprise. Nevada has a great business climate, a place where personal incomes stretch further, yet the state ranks 48th in social services, he said.

"It's the paradox of Nevada," Rothman said.

A criminal justice expert labeled the annual report "nonsense."

Terry Miethe, at UNLV criminal justice professor, wrote a book on the subject of ranking crimes called, "The Mismeasure of Crime."

While a research company such as Morgan Quitno picks five or six indicator crimes on which to base its ratings, it depends on how accurately local and state law enforcement agencies report them, he said.

Morgan Quitno bases its "dangerous" rankings on six basic crime factors. They include rates for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and car theft.

"They're all nonsense," Miethe said of such annual reports. "The ranking of cities based on crime rates is as much dreamworld as reality."