When I first moved to Tacoma several years ago, a colleague from my small community college in Walla Walla told me that I should be careful of violent crime because Tacoma was such a dangerous place. Of course, I knew that a greater population meant that there was more likely to be more crime than the much smaller city of Walla Walla, but I also knew that I could protect myself by following a few simple rules.

The National Crime Prevention Council provides a list of rules that adults should follow to protect themselves from violent crime.

It’s also important to know that violent crime in the United States has actually decreased in the past few years. The NCPC provides more information about that as well.