NCJ Number
238823
Date Published
2012
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This report presents the United States Peace Index (USPI), which is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in order to provide a comprehensive measure of U.S. peacefulness; and it analyzes the socioeconomic measures that are associated with peace, along with estimates of the costs of violence and the economic benefits that would result from increases in peace.
Abstract
In addition to the overall USPI, this year's report contains a Metropolitan Peace Index (MPI) that measures the peacefulness of 61 metropolitan statistical areas within the United States. The 2012 USPI results correlate with a large secondary dataset of economic, educational, health, demographic, and social capital factors. These factors are indicators of the environments that are most closely linked with peace in the United States. The combination of lower crime rates and incarceration rates have led this report to conclude that the United States is now more peaceful than at any time in the last 20 years. Maine is the most peaceful State in the United States for the 11th year in a row; Louisiana is the least peaceful. The report notes that there are significant economic benefits from improving peacefulness. Violence and violence-containment cost the average taxpayer $3,257 annually. If all the U.S. States had the same level of peacefulness as Maine, the total economic effect would be approximately $274 billion. The 2011 USPI found a strong correlation between peace and a number of secondary factors, which has been reinforced by the 2012 USPI. More peaceful States tend to have more economic opportunities, better provision of basic services, and higher levels of educational attainment. In addition, the 2012 USPI found a strong correlation between social capital and peace, which represents a better sense of community and higher rates of volunteerism. 27 tables and 21 references