LAWRENCE, KS — Nevada today repeated its designation as the nation’s most dangerous state. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the Sagebrush State has earned this designation. The announcement was made in Crime State Rankings 2007, an annual reference book published by Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kansas-based independent research and publishing company. At the opposite end of the rankings scale, North Dakota repeats as the nation’s safest state, an honor it has held for the 10th time in the 14 years of the award.

"The story for Nevada remains the same as in previous years,” said Scott Morgan, President of Morgan Quitno Press. “As a rapidly growing state, it struggles with crime and other problems. It has some of the highest murder, robbery and motor vehicle theft rates in the country.”

The 14th annual Most Dangerous and Safest State designations are based on six basic crime factors reported in Morgan Quitno’s just-released annual reference book, Crime State Rankings 2007. Factors considered were rates per 100,000 population for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. States are ranked based on how they compare to the national average for each crime category. The findings are based on 2005 crime statistics, the most recent final state data available from the FBI.

Joining Nevada at the top of the rankings list (in descending order) were New Mexico, Arizona, Maryland and Tennessee. On the safer end of the rankings scale immediately preceding North Dakota were Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming.

"Despite Nevada’s continuing struggle with crime, there is hope on the horizon,” said Morgan. “Its robbery rate fell more than 7% from 2004 to 2005, signaling a positive change for the state.”

The Most Dangerous/Safest State Award is one of six designations announced annually by Morgan Quitno Press in conjunction with publication of its annual statistical reference books.  These other annual awards name the nation’s Safest City and Metro Area (based on data from City Crime Rankings), the Most Livable State (based on data from State Rankings), the Healthiest State (based on data from Health Care State Rankings), the Smartest State (based on data from Education State Rankings), and the Most Improved State (based on data from State Trends.)

Additional information about 2007's Most Dangerous and Safest States is available through the Morgan Quitno website at www.statestats.com. For further inquiries, please contact Morgan Quitno Press at (785) 841-3534.

######