Most Dangerous City In USA?

[jyl]

Here is a news story that caught my eye. Don't know how this study was done but is interesting that Midwest cities seem to top their "danger" list, while NYC and LA are way down the list. Wasn't what I would have thought.

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- St. Louis, where the hometown Cardinals won the baseball World Series last week, was named the most dangerous city in the U.S. in a study based on FBI figures.

The Missouri city topped a list of 371 metropolitan areas in an assessment of 2005 FBI statistics for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. Researchers at Morgan Quitno Press in Lawrence, Kansas, compiled the results in its 13th annual list of the most dangerous and safest cities in the U.S.

``There is some good news,'' Morgan Quitno President Scott Morgan said in an e-mailed statement today. ``St. Louis's property crime rate has fallen 14 percent since 2001.''

St. Louis, which has a population of 350,000, was the third- most dangerous city in last year's rankings and replaced Camden, New Jersey, at the top this time. Detroit was judged the second- most dangerous city and Flint, Michigan, was third. Washington was 19th, Los Angeles was 122nd and New York was 227th.

The safest city in the U.S. was Brick, New Jersey, followed by Amherst, New York, and Mission Viejo, California. Brick has ranked as one of the top five safest U.S. cities in each of the past six years.

Several cities were not included in the list because of incomplete crime information. Chicago and other Illinois cities were missing because of a discrepancy between the way they track rape figures and the FBI's reporting guidelines. A separate calculation without the rape category showed Chicago as the 52nd most dangerous city in the U.S., Morgan Quitno Press said.

The Midwest experienced the steepest increase in violent crime, 5.7 percent, in the U.S. in 2005, according to FBI figures released in June. The murder rate in St. Louis jumped 16 percent compared to 4.8 percent nationally.

[Bill Verburg]

Mines 6^th safest, Knew my taxes were being spent wisely

[Jim Richards]

Mine is probably the most corrupt.

[tabs]

I guess there are a lot of people that need killing in St Louis

[dhoward]

Still are....

[Porsche-O-Phile]

North Long Beach I'm sure is right up there. . . Ditto Compton. Still. And Oakland.

North Long Beach is part of the City of Long Beach, so it's *****hole-ness is probably offset by that somewhat, but it's a gang-infested rathole. If it were broken off into a separate city (which I'd wholly support since my taxes wouldn't have to support the crap that goes on up there anymore) I'm sure it would bubble right to the top.

[rammstein]

I'm shocked that Cincinnati isn't on there. I guess it also benefits from being partially ok. But that bad areas... sheesh...

And what about Western Baltimore? There's a safe place.

[Z-man]

My town is tied for the number one spot for crime free towns in the USA. OF course it helps that the police chief for my county lives here, and recently moved his "Sherifs HQ's" to my town as well...

-Z-man.

[red-beard]

1 word: Katrina. It 'splains a lot.

We got the cream from NOLA, with only a 2% increase in population at the maximum. But our violent crime rate is up 40% with murders up over 25%.

It wouldn't take much from NOLA to increase a city of only 350K's crime rate. 2% would be 7000 people! Houston is a city of 4 Million!

[fastpat]

Ineresting that St. Louis was one of the "zones" that helped defeat Missouri concealed carry licensing a few years ago. Crooks never like facing the potential of an armed victim.

[dhoward]

That's not a problem anymore

[ChemMan]

Flint, MI- number 3 on the list.....with a bullet

[sammyg2]

Compton, Ca. #4.
Every other year they elect a criminal to run the city of compton, then act all surprised when he or she goes to prison for corruption and theft. marion barry would fit in just fine.

If someone is outdoors in Compton past 10 pm they are either selling drugs, buying drugs, or looking for someone to rob or kill. That includes a few of the cops.

[fastpat]

The people living in those cities on the "worst" list are, for the most part, getting exactly the culture and crime they want.

[BRPORSCHE]

Originally posted by red-beard
1 word: Katrina. It 'splains a lot.

We got the cream from NOLA, with only a 2% increase in population at the maximum. But our violent crime rate is up 40% with murders up over 25%.

It wouldn't take much from NOLA to increase a city of only 350K's crime rate. 2% would be 7000 people! Houston is a city of 4 Million!

I second this red. I sometimes have to go to the greyhound station downtown, and i absolutely hate it. In one block I got asked 5 times. I have become pretty crafty though. Carry the cash in your front pocket, and then say you dont have any cash and show them your wallet. They walk away frustrated!

[Aurel]

It is very interesting that both one of the most dangerous towns of the USA(Camden) and the safest (Brick) are in New-Jersey, and only about 30 miles apart.

Aurel

[billwagnon]

Back in the 1800's St. Louis was wealthy and the county was poor. St. Louis City never expanded from its borders. It still cannot. but now the city is poor and the county is wealthy. I don't think the stats include the county.

[austin552]

America's Best and Worst Cities for Crime
Sperling's BestPlaces presents Crime Rates for All 331 Metro Areas

Complete lists for all 331 metro areas.
Check out the study's methodology.

Feeling safe and secure is especially important to Americans these days. Recent events have reminded us that the safety of our loved ones and the security of our property can't be taken for granted.

So what are America's best and worst cities for crime? Are there certain cities with an especially high rate of violent crime? Where do car thieves thrive? The research gurus at Sperling's BestPlaces have mined the recently released FBI Uniform Crime Reports to identify those U.S. cities with the highest and lowest rates of crime.

Click here to view the complete crime rates for all 331 metro areas. Or check out the Uniform Crime Reports section on the FBI web site.

Breaking Story! - Atlanta police chief says his city falsified crime reports
Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington criticized his department for routinely underreporting crime over the past eight years, and warned that Atlanta is actually the most dangerous city in America.
View the full story. Then see the crime rates Atlanta reported and judge for yourself.
Only from Sperling's BestPlaces.

Regional Differences

The FBI's Crime Index rate reflects the total number of offenses per 100,000 residents. According to the FBI, the national Crime Index rate for 2002 was 4,118. The Northeast region of the United States had the lowest crime of the four regions, with a rate of 2,889 offenses per 100,000 population. The next lowest region was the Midwest, with a Crime Index rate of 3,883 offenses. The Western region followed with a rate of 4,418 offenses, while the Southern region showed the highest crime rate of 4,722 offenses per 100,000 residents.

Best Large Cities for Crime (>500,000 pop.)
New Jersey boasts three of the nation's safest and most secure metro areas:

Nassau-Suffolk, NY *
Nassau-Suffolk has the second-lowest overall crime rate in the nation, thanks to extremely low violent and property crime rates
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
The Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon area has one of the lowest murder rates in the nation, in addition to a very low rate of larceny.
Ventura, CA
Ventura has a very low property crime rate and one of the lowest larceny rates in the country.
Monmouth-Ocean, NJ
Monmouth-Ocean has one of the lowest auto theft rates in the country, and an overall low rate of property crime.
Bergen-Passaic, NJ
Bergen-Passaic has especially low rates of forcible rape and larceny.

Best Medium Cities for Crime (200,000-500,000 pop.)
New England seems to be an especially safe and secure region:

Danbury, CT
Danbury has lowest overall crime rate in the nation, as well as the lowest property crime rate.
Stamford-Norwalk, CT
Second only to its neighbor Danbury, the Stamford-Norwalk area has one of the lowest property crime rates in the U.S.
Johnstown, PA
Johnstown has an especially low rate of property crime. The murder rate is a bit higher than one might expect, but is still well below the U.S. average.
Dutchess County, NY
Dutchess County has a very low burglary rate, which helps contribute to low overall rate of property crime.
Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME
The Portsmouth-Rochester area has low rates of property and violent crime, but there is a significant rate of forcible rape.

Best Small Cities for Crime (<200,000 pop.)

State College, PA
State College has low crime rates across the board. In particular, the burglary and auto theft rates are among the nation's lowest.
Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV
Property crime is especially low in Steubenville-Weirton area, especially the rate of larceny.
Wheeling, WV-OH *
While property crime is extremely low in Wheeling, the rates of murder and assault are a bit higher than might be expected.
Pittsfield, MA *
Pittsfield not only has one of the nation's lowest murder rates, but also an exceptionally low rate of larceny. However, the rate of forcible rape is significant.
Wausau, WI
Like Pittsfield, Wausau's rates of murder and larceny are among the nation's lowest. The violent crime rates are also low.

Worst Large Cities for Crime (>500,000 pop.)
Although Arizona has two of the most crime-ridden cities in the nation, their violent crime rates are relatively low.

Tucson, AZ
Tucson has one of the highest property crime rates in the country, especially larceny. On the bright side, Tucson has a low murder rate.
Memphis, TN-AR-MS *
Residents of Memphis contend with the nation's second-highest violent crime rate. In addition, the rate of robbery and burglary are among the nation's highest.
Miami, FL
Miami's violent crime rate is the highest in the nation, with especially high incidences of robbery and assault. Thankfully, the murder rate is relatively low.
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
Phoenix-Mesa has one of the highest rates of auto theft in the nation.
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
The Little Rock area has a high rate of property crime, especially larceny.

Worst Medium Cities for Crime (200,000-500,000 pop.)
On the other hand, the South seems to be particularly challenged with crime:

Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach has the highest total rate of crime in the nation, due to a high rate of violent crime and the nation's highest rate of property crime. In particular, the rates of assault, burglary, and larceny are particularly high.
Montgomery, AL
The murder rate is significantly high in Montgomery, as are the rates of robbery, burglary, and larceny.
Laredo, TX
While the larceny rate is high in Laredo, residents can take comfort in the relatively low rates of murder and forcible rape.
Waco, TX
Like Laredo, violent crime is less of a concern in Waco than property crime. In particular, burglary and larceny are a problem.
Wilmington, NC
Wilmington has the second-highest rate of burglary in the country. On the other hand, the rates of forcible rape and assault are low.

Worst Small Cities for Crime (<200,000 pop.)

Topeka, KS
Topeka has the highest rate of property crime among cities with fewer than 200,000 population. The rates of larceny and robbery are especially high.
Pine Bluff, AR
Pine Bluff has a high rate of murder and the ninth-highest rate of robbery in the nation.
Monroe, LA *
Monroe suffers from significant property and violent crime, especially assault and larceny.
Alexandria, LA
Alexandria has the fourth-highest violent crime rate in the nation. Murder and assault are a problem in particular, but the rate of forcible rape is low.
Florence, SC
Assault and larceny rates are high in Florence, but the murder rate is low.

[red-beard]

There is no doubt that the listing are wrong. Pittsfield is a pit!

Unless of course everyone recently moved away and no one lives there anymore!

[snowman]

Washington DC has to be one of the worst places for crime anywhere. All types of crime. White collar, political, murder, rape, you name it. If you have any doubt, just visit this fine example of the lefts ideals. Stay in almost any hotel, motel. You will be robbed, assaulted, or someone next to you will be. Stay for a few more days and you will certainly be among the victims yourself.

Only in the DC can a dope addict, felon be mayor, corruption runs rampunt, and race relations are at their lowest point of anytime.