Every day we can watch the news at the click of a button or even open our phones to a notification of a new headline that is occurring in a dangerous state. These headlines more than involve stories that include gun violence, hate crimes, or some type of natural disaster. Seeing that a Florida man did another scandal at 9 in the morning every day does not help create a feeling of safety. Having a constant reminder that danger is occurring can make citizens scared for their well-being and the safety of their loved ones.
With the decrease of COVID-19 pandemic headlines, there are still issues that are arising in our country. This can be shown in Florida specifically with the elevated homicide rates that are present or with the severe weather. Overall as a country, Americans also worry for their financial safety due to the increase in inflation.
No matter what issues are occurring- every state will have its own downfalls. But which state is the most dangerous in America? To determine the safest states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 52 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories.
Main Findings
Source: WalletHub
The top 5 most dangerous states include:
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Arkansas
- Texas
- Florida
Safety in Florida (1=Safest; 25=Avg.)
- 24th – Murders & Non-Negligent Manslaughters per Capita
- 18th – Assaults per Capita
- 45th – Loss Amounts from Climate Disasters per Capita
- 24th – Fatal Occupational Injuries per 100,000 Full-Time Workers
- 43rd – Fatalities per 100 Million Vehicle Miles of Travel
- 39th – Sex Offenders per Capita
- 47th – Share of Uninsured Population
While Florida ranks the fifth most dangerous state in America, safety can be measured in a multitude of ways.
While one might think safety is only a handful of crimes it is important to remember it includes various aspects as well. This can include natural disasters like the damage from hurricanes that Florida experiences. It also can be measured with the amount of uninsured population that is in the state. While looking at all these potential threats to one's safety, it is important to ask how you want to weigh these risks out for yourself.
The Netflix craze "Dahmer" certainly made a lot of people intrigued by the term serial killer. Sure, we all remember the big names like Gacy, Dahmer and Bundy. But there are so many others who strategically sought out after their victims right here in Florida.
As we all know, Florida is typically thought of as being a vacation destination for families heading to Disney, spring breakers flocking to the beaches all along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and of course the snow birds who make their way down and sometimes never leave. When we think of Florida, aside from the raging home and gas prices, we typically have happy thoughts.
Well, not so fast! Who knew how many serial killers committed their crimes right here in Florida?
You may have heard of a few of these names. Aileen Wuornos who was famously portrayed by Charlize Theron in "Monster", well, who could forget her? Then there's perhaps the most infamous of all, Ted Bundy, known for his massacres at Florida State University, among other crimes.
If you love "True Crime", you'll love this list that Cat McAuliffe at Ranker put together of 10 Serial Killers Whose Crimes Were Committed In Florida.
Here is her of 10 Serial Killers whose crimes were committed in Florida:
Danny Rolling
Daniel Harold Rolling (May 26, 1954 – October 25, 2006), known as The Gainesville Ripper, was an American serial killer who murdered five students in Gainesville, Florida, over four days in late August 1990. Rolling later confessed to raping several of his victims, committing a triple homicide in his home city of Shreveport, Louisiana, and attempting to murder his father in May 1990. In total, Rolling confessed to killing eight people.[1] Rolling was sentenced to death for the five Gainesville murders in 1994. He was executed by lethal injection in 2006.
Source: Wikipedia
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy (born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials he confessed to thirty murders he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. Bundy's true victim total is unknown, and is likely significantly higher.[7]
Source: Wikipedia
David Alan Gore
David Alan Gore (August 21, 1953 – April 12, 2012) was an American serial killer who confessed to, and was convicted of, six murders in Vero Beach and Indian River County, Florida in the 1980s. Gore was executed by lethal injection in 2012, having been on Florida's death row for 28 years.
Source: Wikipedia
Gerard John Schaefer
Gerard John Schaefer Jr. (March 26, 1946 – December 3, 1995) was an American murderer and suspected serial killer known as the Killer Cop who was convicted of the 1972 murder and mutilation of two teenage girls in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He is suspected of committing up to 34 further murders.[1]
Source: Wikipedia
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Carol Wuornos[2] (born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer.[3] In 1989–1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. Wuornos claimed that her clients had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that all of the homicides were committed in self-defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders and on October 9, 2002, after 12 years on Florida's death row,[4] was executed by lethal injection.
Source: Wikipedia
Bobby Joe Long
Robert Joseph "Bobby Joe" Long[1] (October 14, 1953 – May 23, 2019)[2] was an American serial killer and rapist who was executed by the state of Florida for the murder of Michelle Denise Simms.[3] Long abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered at least ten women in the Tampa Bay area in Florida during an eight-month period in 1984. He released 17-year-old Lisa McVey after 26 hours. McVey provided critical information to the police that enabled them to arrest Long. Long was also a serial rapist.
Source: Wikipedia
Oscar Ray Bolin
Oscar Ray Bolin Jr. (January 22, 1962 – January 7, 2016)[1] was an American serial killer and convicted rapist who was executed in Florida for murder. In 1986, Bolin kidnapped and murdered three young women in Tampa, Florida. He was later connected to a fourth murder in Texas in 1987. The murders went unsolved for nearly four years, until the husband of his ex-wife called a tip line and implicated him. He maintained his innocence to the end.[2]
Source: Wikipedia
Christine Falling
From February 1980 to July 1982, teenager Christine Falling from Perry, Florida, choked five children, the youngest being an 8-month-old baby.
Source: Ranker
Eddie Lee Mosley
Eddie Lee Mosley (March 31, 1947 – May 28, 2020) was an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least eight women in Fort Lauderdale, Florida between 1973 and 1987. He was arrested in 2001 following the results of a DNA profiling test, after being the prime suspect in several murders for many years.
Source: Wikipedia
The Flat-Tire Murderer
This killer has never been identified.
From February 1975 to July 1975, five young women and teenage girls were killed in South Florida, leading police to suspect the murders were the work of a single perpetrator. The killings were dubbed the "flat-tire murders" because the authorities believed the killer deflated the tires of his victims' vehicles, allowing him to offer his help when they realized they were stranded in a commercial parking lot.
Source: Ranker