GeoTRIVIA Fall 2007

And the answers are:

1. How many of the ten largest U.S. shopping malls are in neighborhoods with a high likelihood of crime?

   Two of the ten largest U.S. shopping malls — the Aventura Mall in Florida and The Galleria in Texas — are in neighborhoods with a high likelihood of crime (three to four times the national average). With a crime-risk score of five equal to the national average, six of the malls are in neighborhoods with above-average predicted crime risks and two of the malls are in neighborhoods with below-average risks.

   The table below shows the locations from highest to lowest risk.

   Shopping Mall	Size (Million Sq Ft)	Location	Crime-Risk Score
   Aventura Mall	2.400	North Miami Beach, FL	8
   The Galleria	2.298	Houston, TX	8
   Grand Canyon Parkway	2.500	Las Vegas, NV	7
   Roosevelt Field Mall	2.189	Garden City, NY	7
   South Coast Plaza	2.700	Costa Mesa, CA	6
   Del Amo Fashion Center	2.500	Torrance, CA	6
   Mall of America	2.777	Bloomington, MN	5
   Woodfield Mall	2.224	Schaumburg, IL	5
   King of Prussia Mall	2.798	King of Prussia, PA	4
   Sawgrass Mills	2.503	Sunrise, FL	4

   
   The statistics don‘t indicate the level of safety within the mall itself, which may be well protected. The crime risk predicts only the likelihood of crime in surrounding areas.

   LOCATION® Crime Service, which we use here, provides the crime-risk scores for any address in the United States. The scores can help you make important underwriting decisions.

   The King of Prussia Mall — the largest mall in the country — is in a neighborhood with a crime-risk score one-third to one-half the national average. The upscale mall has high-end stores, and shoppers spend more than a billion dollars annually there.

2. Among all U.S. cities having a population of 250,000 or greater, which city has the lowest crime rate (data as of September 2006)?

   Virginia Beach, Virginia, has the lowest violent crime rate of the cities ranked here, with populations of 250,000 or greater. The ranking uses numbers released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for violent crime categories of murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

   The ranking has some missing cities because not all cities reported complete crime information. Also, some cities had changes in reporting systems and computer issues. The most notable omissions are Chicago and other Illinois cities. Their submitted numbers didn‘t meet the FBI‘s Uniform Crime Reporting guidelines.

   Safest Rank	City	Violent Crime Rate*	Population
   1	Virginia Beach	283.7	442,784
   2	Plano	288.9	257,183
   3	Honolulu	300.8	912,693
   4	San Jose	386.8	920,548
   5	El Paso	392.0	615,553
   6	Mesa	435.7	459,705
   7	Anaheim	455.2	334,792
   8	Mobile	466.5	250,152
   9	San Diego	504.5	1,266,847
   10	Austin	515.3	709,813
   11	New Orleans	523.0	431,153
   12	Bakersfield	528.2	298,198
   13	Colorado Springs	569.3	376,807
   14	Santa Ana	581.8	343,433
   15	Omaha	601.1	416,770
   16	Louisville Metro	612.8	626,018
   17	Aurora	613.5	302,855
   18	San Antonio	617.4	1,292,116
   19	Lexington	633.7	270,179
   20	New York	637.9	8,165,001
   21	Raleigh	638.2	348,345
   22	Fort Worth	655.9	641,752
   23	Riverside	688.1	292,698
   24	Corpus Christi	710.1	291,507
   25	Seattle	711.2	583,772
   26	Portland	714.2	542,174
   27	Long Beach	715.1	478,283
   28	Arlington	731.2	373,086
   29	Phoenix	737.7	1,517,443
   30	Fresno	757.4	465,269
   31	Denver	760.8	568,465
   32	Los Angeles	786.9	3,879,455
   33	Oklahoma City	802.4	536,016
   34	Columbus	813.1	731,547
   35	Jacksonville	837.2	795,822
   36	Tucson	855.7	535,232
   37	San Francisco	875.6	746,085
   38	Albuquerque	908.3	500,955
   39	Wichita	928.7	357,372
   40	Anchorage	933.4	277,692
   41	Indianapolis	960.0	800,969
   42	Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department	982.9	1,315,625
   43	Newark	1,010.8	280,877
   44	Pittsburgh	1,069.9	324,604
   45	Charlotte-Mecklenburg	1,076.9	699,398
   46	Toledo	1,147.3	301,652
   47	Tampa	1,158.1	331,487
   48	Houston	1,169.4	2,073,729
   49	Dallas	1,206.4	1,248,223
   50	Sacramento	1,206.4	460,552
   51	Cincinnati	1,218.4	309,104
   52	Tulsa	1,248.2	385,834
   53	Milwaukee	1,324.9	581,005
   54	Boston	1,339.5	562,393
   55	Buffalo	1,410.7	280,494
   56	Kansas City	1,443.7	448,218
   57	Washington	1,445.8	581,530
   58	Stockton	1,481.1	289,510
   59	St. Petersburg	1,481.8	253,280
   60	Miami	1,509.4	392,934
   61	Nashville	1,527.2	560,813
   62	Cleveland	1,547.0	452,759
   63	Atlanta	1,553.7	485,804
   64	Philadelphia	1,562.4	1,464,576
   65	Baltimore	1,696.5	637,556
   66	Oakland	1,905.3	398,834
   67	Memphis	1,989.3	680,828
   68	Detroit	2,418.9	884,462
   69	St. Louis	2,480.7	346,879

   Source: FBI Statistics/Crime Report

   *	Crime rate is the number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies per 100,000 inhabitants. A crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population and then multiplying the results by 100,000.

3. Which city among the 25 largest cities in the United States has the highest number of serious crimes but the lowest overall crime rate?

   New York. Crime has been falling a little each year since the late 1980s, with the last few years seeing double-digit decreases. New York City now has its lowest total crime rate since the 1960s and one of the lowest crime rates in the country. Of the nation‘s 25 largest cities, New York had the lowest total crime rate per 100,000 people.

   One contributing factor to New York having the highest number of serious crimes (for example, violent crimes such as murder, rape, and aggravated assault), is that it has the greatest population.

   The following chart shows that New York City ranked lowest in the Total Crime Rate for the nation‘s 25 largest cities:

   City	Population	Total Crime Rate*	Number of Violent Crimes	Number of Total Crimes
   New York	8,165,001	4,396.3	52,086	358,958
   San Jose	920,548	5,653.3	3,561	52,041
   Los Angeles	3,879,455	6,223.7	30,526	241,444
   El Paso	615,553	7,077.4	2,413	43,565
   San Diego	1,266,847	7,641.7	6,391	96,809
   Honolulu	912,693	8,695.7	2,745	79,365
   Louisville Metro	626,018	9,921.1	3,836	62,108
   Philadelphia	1,464,576	10,112.6	22,883	148,107
   Chicago	2,857,796	10,260.1		293,212
   Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department	1,315,625	10,317.6	12,931	135,741
   San Francisco	746,085	10,791.9	6,533	80,517
   Jacksonville	795,822	11,669.6	6,663	92,869
   Baltimore	637,556	11,835.5	10,816	75,458
   Fort Worth	641,752	12,022.6	4,209	77,155
   Austin	709,813	12,229.1	3,658	86,804
   Phoenix	1,517,443	12,606.3	11,194	191,294
   San Antonio	1,292,116	12,786.7	7,977	165,219
   Houston	2,073,729	12,844.3	24,250	266,356
   Indianapolis	800,969	13,344.7	7,689	106,887
   Seattle	583,772	14,254.9	4,152	83,216
   Dallas	1,248,223	14,920.6	15,058	186,242
   Columbus	731,547	15,056.3	5,948	110,144
   Charlotte-Mecklenburg	699,398	15,056.4	7,532	105,304
   Detroit	884,462	16,515.1	21,394	146,070
   Memphis	680,828	18,705.8	13,544	127,354

   Source: FBI Statistics/Crime Report

   *	Crime rate is the number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies per 100,000 inhabitants. A crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population and then multiplying the results by 100,000.

4. Who is the most notorious male-female crime duo in American history, and where did they die?

   

   Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow both came from poverty-stricken families. During the nationwide depression that began in 1929, they teamed up to rob banks and store owners in states including Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Clyde murdered anyone who got in his way. Police and government detectives constantly tried to track them down, and Bonnie and Clyde risked their own lives to protect each other. Their crime spree lasted almost two years, until the spring of 1934. Law enforcement authorities set up a trap for them at their hideout (the John Cole farmhouse) on a Louisiana farm. Authorities gunned them down on May 23, 1934, on a road in Bienville Park.

   

5. How do you determine the distance of a particular location or address to a defined major body of water or coastline?

   a. Scour the coastline on foot
   b. Use static maps and a ruler
   c. Use undefined ambiguous methods
   d. Use the ISO LOCATION® Distance to Major Body of Water/Coast measurement with AIM methodology.

   The answer is d.

   According to the January 2007 bulletin issued by the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID), ISO‘s Angle of Impact Measurement (AIM) methodology indicates “where the highest winds will occur along rivers and, consequently, the most damage that is likely.”

   To read more about the filing review guidelines for underwriting homeowners insurance in coastal areas of Connecticut, follow the link to the complete bulletin issued by CID.