To learn more about this issue, visit the FBI Crime Data Explorer.

The crime rate per 100 provides a more accurate measure of criminal activity by standardizing offenses relative to population size. This metric allows for a fair comparison across states with varying populations, offering insights into the prevalence of crime within smaller or larger communities. For example, a crime rate of 5 per 100 people indicates that 5 crimes are reported on average for every 100 residents in a given area. Understanding crime rates per 100 is essential for identifying trends, allocating resources effectively, and addressing public safety concerns across different regions.

The highest crime per 100 state is New Mexico, with states like Nevada coming in second.

The high chart above shows a bar chart of the top 10 states in total offenses and how they differ by year and state. This is in the crimes against property category. The graph is interactive, so when highlighting the bars, they change to show specific numbers for each year. The years are highlighted by the colors at the bottom. Texas leads the country in total property offenses and has only increased since 2020. California saw the largest change increasing by over 100,000 total offenses from 2021 to 2023. No matter the state, 2020 had the least amount of committed offenses.

Outlining the top 10 States is incredibly important to show problem areas/regions in the United States related to property crime. More about property crime is linked here.

My interactive bar plot demonstrates the number of Weapon Law Violations by state within 2023. My research questions for this dataset were: Are states with stricter gun control laws showing higher or lower rates of weapon violations in 2023? How does this compare to states with little to no gun control laws?

After researching which states in America enforce strict gun control laws and which are more lenient, I found a correlation between stricter gun laws and the number of Weapon Law Violations in certain cases. I utilized the Giffords Law Center’s Gun Law Scorecard as a reliable source to determine how rankings were assigned. The state with the most amount of Weapon Law Violations was California with 34,007. This correlated to California being ranked #1 for strongest gun laws. Following California with the highest number of weapon violations are Texas(33,168), ranked #31, North Carolina(22,074), ranked #22, and New York(21,952), ranked #5. Notably, these states are also among the largest in the country, which may contribute to their higher number of violations compared to states with similar gun law rankings.

However, this correlation didn’t remain consistent throughout all states. States who ranked higher with stronger gun control laws, did not always have a high number of violations. For instance, Hawaii is ranked #6 for strongest gun laws, yet they reported only 379 gun law violations. Various factors could influence this, such as the state’s smaller size, lower population, or greater compliance with gun control laws among its citizens.

Wyoming who is ranked #50, meaning they have very little to no gun control laws, had 238 violations. This number correlates to their lack of gun law enforcement.

In conclusion, my interactive bar plot highlights the complexities in the relationship between gun control laws and weapon law violations in 2023. States with stricter gun laws, like California, reported higher violations, likely influenced by larger populations and stricter enforcement, while lenient states like Wyoming had fewer violations. However, this pattern isn’t consistent, suggesting factors like state size, population density, and public compliance also play significant roles. This analysis underscores the need to consider multiple variables when evaluating the impact of gun control laws.