Arkansas has a lot of history, different cultures, and beautiful nature, but it also has a problem with crime. Based on new FBI crime figures, Arkansas is the third most dangerous state in the US. The dangerous crime rate is 7.09 per 1,000 people who live there, and the property crime rate is 26.47 per 1,000 people who live there. It might come as a surprise, though, to learn which Arkansas city has the highest crime rate.
Pine Bluff is Arkansas’s most dangerous city
The questionable honor of being Arkansas’s most dangerous city for 2023 goes to Pine Bluff, a place with about 40,000 people that is about 45 minutes southeast of Little Rock. The FBI says that Pine Bluff has a very high rate of serious crime (20.67 per 1,000 people) and a high rate of property crime (58.63 per 1,000 people). Based on these numbers, Pine Bluff people have a sad 1 in 48 chance of being a victim of a violent crime and a 1 in 17 chance of being a victim of a property crime.
Pine Bluff has had a lot of problems for a long time, including poverty, unemployment, drug problems, gang activity, and corruption. Crime isn’t something that just started happening recently.
Pine Bluff used to be a thriving center for farming and industry, but many industries and railroads shut down in the late 20th century, hurting the city’s economy. At the moment, Pine Bluff has one of the lowest median family incomes in the state, at $31,330, and one of the highest rates of poverty in the state, at 28.8%.
However, these sad crime numbers are just numbers that don’t show the people who are affected by them. Some of the most terrifying things that have happened in Pine Bluff are:
- This happened in 2019: a man was shot and killed at a gas station by the ex-boyfriend of his woman. His children were there.
- In 2020, a woman’s husband killed her by stabbing her after a fight over money.
- Teenagers lost their lives in 2021 when a member of a rival gang shot and killed them on their way home from school.
- In 2022, two masked attackers broke into and robbed a couple’s home, causing them a terrible experience.
These sad cases are only a small part of the pointless crimes that have been happening in Pine Bluff for years. The people who were hurt and their families want justice and peace.
What can be done to make Pine Bluff a safer place?
The crime problem in Pine Bluff is complicated and has no easy solutions. Still, there are a number of things that can be done to make Pine Bluff’s people safer and better off in general. Some good ideas are listed below:
- Increasing the Pine Bluff Police Department’s budget and staffing. There are only 120 cops working for a 40,000-person city right now.
- By using community policing tactics, police and citizens can build trust and work together better.
- Increasing the number of educational and job options for young people will keep them from breaking the law or joining gangs.
- Increasing support for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the area will lead to more work and economic growth in the city.
- Increasing social services and programs that deal with problems like homelessness, poverty, addiction, mental illness, and violence in the home.
- Promoting a shared goal and action plan for Pine Bluff’s future and encouraging people from all walks of life to get involved in politics.
In Conclusion
Pine Bluff is a city that faces many problems, but it also has a lot of promise. It has a long and interesting past, a lot of different cultures, and a strong will. Pine Bluff has a lot going for it, like its beautiful location along the Arkansas River, its historic downtown area, its culture institutions, and its many natural resources. More importantly, it’s home to caring people who love their city and want to see it grow economically.
Being called the most dangerous place in Arkansas isn’t a fair description of Pine Bluff. State and federal governments, as well as private and charity groups, should pay more attention to, invest in, and support Pine Bluff. It deserves respect, appreciation, and recognition from its visitors and neighbors. But most importantly, it deserves its own people to feel hopeful, proud, and full of hope again.
For Pine Bluff to get out of its crime problem, the town needs to work together to solve its deeper problems and use its natural strengths. As long as people in Pine Bluff believe in themselves and their skills, the city could become safer, wealthier, and happier. Pine Bluff can become more than just a number; it can become an amazing success story.