Yesterday's main post, reported on the findings of the recently published "United State Peace Index - 2011" by the Institute for Economics & Peace. New Yorkers can take particular pride in one of the findings of the report, namely the State of New York showed the most marked improvement in decreasing violence of any state in the U.S. In 1991, New York ranked 49th of the 50 states in peacefulness (defined as a lack of violence). Today, it ranks 29th, still not great but a vast improvement in 20 years. The state showed marked improvement in all of the indicators of decreasing violence including a dwindling prison population. We saw yesterday that America's bloated prison population is a key drag on decreasing the level of violence in the nation. Large prison populations, the index reveals, increase rather than decrease the level of violence in our nation. The report does not provide other reasons for the marked decrease in violence in New York, although it does suggest that a decrease in the poverty rate was a contributing factor.Just to keep things in perspective, however, our neighbors to the east in New England are the least violent people in the nation by a large factor. Of all 50 states, Maine ranks first, New Hampshire second, and Vermont third in peacefulness. Maine has an index score of 1.34. New York's score is 2.69. Louisiana is the most violent state in the nation with a score of 3.97. So, even though there's a long way to go, good for you, New York! Keep up the good work. Please.
