RI is generally safe in most neighborhoods you would intentionally go to. The most dangerous part is probably driving, as the locals are prone to run red lights and shift lanes with no warning. Locals are also known to run through stop signs. Many accidents are the results of not signaling properly when changing lanes and running through red lights and stop signs.
Providence is relatively safe, but be careful while walking around the capital city at night. Areas in which to exercise caution, unless you know where you are going, are Camp Street on the East Side, South Providence, and the Olneyville section of Providence. Broad Street and Elmwood Avenue on the South Side of Providence are also areas in which to exercise caution.
talk
Rhode Islanders talk with a distinctly eastern-New-England accent, similar to Boston's famous broad a and dropped r. Natives also have a habit of adding r to the end of a word. For example, some people may say idear instead of idea. Some words you might hear while visiting: "bubbler" water fountain, "grinder" submarine sandwich, and "cabinet" milkshake.
Rhode Islanders will affectionately complain that if they have to drive anywhere and it takes longer than a half hour, then it is too far.
Natives also have names for certain landmarks, sometimes with a historical aspect with it. For instance, the Henderson Bridge, which is a mini-freeway/bridge in the Providence area, is affectionately known as the "little red bridge" because before the present bridge was built, a red wooden bridge stood there. Central Falls and East Providence will be known, especially in newspapers, as CF and EP respectively. Barrington will sometimes be called Borington because there are no liquor stores there it is prohibited by a town ordinance.
Rhode Island's local pastime is politics, which can get very emotional here. Rhode Island has the only surviving parliamentary democracy in the US. Combine that with an "everybody knows everybody" state of mind and you've got Rhode Island politics in a nutshell.