Springfield compared to... many other Missouri towns (Columbia: crime rate, house)

[distantviews]

I have lived in Springfield my entire life, there is not a street I wouldnt walk on anytime of the day or night. I feel safe even in the run-down areas. Shootings here are rare, drive-bys, i have heard of two since I can remember and Im 18. Rapes are rarely heard about. Gangs have almost never been spoken of until the past year. Springfield has around 150,000 residents, now compared to Jeff city, Columbia, Poplar bluff, Idependence, etc. Springfield seems like heaven! You hear all sorts of terrible things about Columbia and Jeff city even though thier populations are not even half the size (well columbia might be half Jeff city isnt close...) Springfield seems to deny the larger the city the more crime. I live in a 70 year old house in North springfield, and I have had no problems except someone stole a car radio once when the car was left unlocked. No muders here, no drive-bys, no one has ever broke into my house, Ive never seen a gun on anyone. I wish that Mizzou was in Springfield, because after reading what I have, SPFD seems to be a tad bit above par compared to "cities" like columbia or jeff city.

[8 SNAKE]

Out of curiosity, are you basing your comparisons on hard data or word-of-mouth information? It appears that you're using the latter, which is not a reliable or accurate metric of crime in a given area. You will almost always hear about the bad events that take place in an area because no one tells stories about nothing happening. As a result, you hear about crime taking place in Jeff City and Columbia and perceive the rates to be higher than Springfield (where you live and see the reality day in and day out).

I'm not suggesting that Springfield has a higher (or lower) crime rate than Jeff City and/or Columbia. I don't know the statistics, so I can't make an informed statement. I'd just like to hear a little more about how you've arrived at your conclusions.