NFL Arrests More Likely in, say, Jacksonville or Kansas City?

Today, on thebiglead.com, a Jason Lisk post points out a negative correlation between the size of a market and the arrest numbers for their NFL teams.  For instance, the Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, and Denver Broncos claim the three highest totals (in that order).  By contrast, the two New York franchises (Jets and Giants) are at the bottom of the list.  Apparently, the mathematical correlation between metro area population size and number of arrests since 2000 is -0.39. While this number may not be that meaningful to most, he also presents the data in a couple different fashions. For instance, here are the average arrest totals since 2000, based on metropolitan area population size:

• Top ten markets (New York, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Bay Area): 14.2 arrests per team
• Middle ten markets (Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Denver, Pittsburgh): 20.1 arrests per team
• Bottom ten markets (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Nashville, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Buffalo, Green Bay): 23.2 arrests per team

Similarly, the arrest averages by region were:

• North 22.4
• Southeast 22.4
• Midwest 20.4 
• Pacific 16.0
• Northeast 13.2

He also points out, however, that not all arrests are equal (e.g., the Northeastern teams had more gun related offenses, and drug offenses) and that there are a lot of factors that these statistics may oversimplify. All said, this may not be very meaningful, but it is kind of interesting.