Most Dangerous U.S. Cities

Most Dangerous U.S. Cities

Most Dangerous Cities
CQ Press recently analyzed FBI statistics to rank the most dangerous cities in the nation. Based on violent crime findings, the study exposed cities big and small, notorious and not.

Dayton

Dayton, the 20th most dangerous city, is not nearly the largest city in Ohio.

Hartford

Hartford is the capital of Connecticut and is sometimes known by this moniker, because it's home to companies including Aetna and Travelers. Hartford is also the nation's second-poorest city. Unlike Hartford, the country's poorest city is not among the most dangerous.

New Haven

New Haven is home to an Ivy League school and claims to be the birthplace of a favorite American food. As one of the state's largest cities

Buffalo

Buffalo is the second-largest city in New York and near a landmark. Though it is the 17th most dangerous city, Forbes ranked it favorably.

Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, is a college town. A bulk of the population attends college, including one of the nation's biggest universities.

Little Rock

Little Rock is the largest city in and capital of Arkansas.

Jackson

Jackson is the capital of and most populous city in Mississippi. Despite its rank as the 14th most dangerous city, it was lauded by Forbes in 2009. A famous police killing occurred there in the 1970s.

New Orleans

The current population of New Orleans is much smaller than before Hurricane Katrina. The population greatly increases during Mardi Gras.

Memphis

Memphis has the highest population in Tennessee. One religion thrives in Memphis, and so does the second-most-visited home in the United States.

Baltimore

Baltimore is the biggest city in Maryland. It is the 11th most dangerous city, but crime there has decreased. HBO capitalized on the city's criminal reputation, with a popular crime series shot there.

Birmingham

Birmingham is the most populous city in Alabama.

Gary

Gary is a small city in Indiana and neighbors one of the biggest cities in the nation. In 2008, Gary police were caught in a civil rights violation.

Compton

Compton is among the largest cities in California. Compton's rank as the 8th most dangerous city follows a history of violence. The city's Gifts for Guns program may reverse the trend.

Cleveland

Cleveland has a shrinking population. Though known as the "Comeback City" in Ohio, its danger ranking has increased.

Richmond

Richmond is in a large metropolis in California. Richmond's police notoriously acknowledged crime. What did they say? The city is one of the state's smallest municipalities.

Oakland

Oakland is mere miles from the safer San Francisco. Oakland has a large population. The city had a record number of homicides in the '90s.

Flint

Flint is far from being the biggest city in Michigan. Recent years have been especially violent in Flint. The mayor spoke solemnly last year.

Detroit

Detroit is known as "Motor City" and "Motown." Detroit has a criminal reputation, but crime is decreasing. The city's 8 Mile Road is notorious.

Camden

Camden is a small city in New Jersey. Camden's danger rank has been up and down. A serial killer attacked in 1949.

St. Louis

St. Louis is not the largest city in Missouri, but it is the largest metropolis.


Source:Specials

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America's most crime-ridden cities

The 11 Most Dangerous Cities
Crime rates in the United States have dropped significantly in the last two decades and continue to be on a steady downward trajectory, according to FBI figures. In 1991, there were 758 violent crimes per 100,000 Americans, compared to 2009's figure of 429. Property crime has diminished similarly, and is down to 3,036 per 100,000 people from 5,140 in 1991. Total crime numbers have also decreased over that period, despite population increases; 1.9 million violent crimes were reported in 1991, a figure that in 2009 stood at 1.3 million. Property crime has decreased even further, from 13.0 million incidents in 1991 to 9.3 million in 2009. Of course, crime remains a major problem in some of the largest urban areas, some of which have crime rates that are more than double, triple, or even quadruple the national figure.

An analysis of FBI data shows which cities in the United States have the highest overall incidence of crime, relative to the national rate. Below are the 11 U.S. cities with the greatest crime risk, according to an Onboard Informatics analysis of the most recent seven years of FBI crime reporting data. This data includes property crime, such as burglary and motor vehicle theft, as well as violent crime, like murder and robbery. An index score of 100 is equal to the national crime rate, meaning that Memphis, for example, with an index of 361, has a crime rate more than three times the national average.
Here are the 11 most dangerous cities in terms of crime risk:

                                                           City                                Crime Rate Index

1. St. Louis	530
2. Atlanta	484
3. Birmingham Alabama (tie)	380
3. Orlando (tie)	380
5. Detroit	369
6. Memphis	361
7. Miami	346
8. Baltimore	339
9. Kansas City, Missouri	337
10. Minneapolis (tie)	331
10. Cleveland (tie)	331

Source: Onboard Informatics
Property crime is far more prevalent than violent crime in all of these cities, as with the rest of the nation, and nearly all of these 11 cities have also experienced significant drops in property crime in recent years. St. Louis, the city with the highest crime risk, has made major strides in the years covered by this index figure, with a property crime rate that has dropped from 13,187 per 100,000 residents in 2003 to 8,331 in 2009. In particular, the city's motor vehicle theft rate dropped by more than half in those seven years. Meanwhile, several of the cities among the top 11 experienced fluctuations or even growth in violent crime rates. Cleveland, for example, saw murder and aggravated assault rates grow from 2003 through 2009, though forcible rapes and aggravated assaults on the whole declined. Memphis saw the largest violent crime rate jump of the group, up to 1,806 per 100,000 residents in 2009 from 1,577 in 2003.
Of course, the above index figures do not provide a full picture of crime in any given city. For example, Birmingham and Orlando share an index rating of 380, but a statistical snapshot shows that the two cities deal with their own unique crime patterns. In 2009, Orlando had a greater incidence of larceny and theft than Birmingham, which itself experienced more forcible rapes and robberies.
It is also important to note that the above figures give an overall view of crime in these cities. Several other cities that have high rates of particular crimes are not among the 11 cities with the worst crime rates. For example, New Orleans and Richmond, Virginia had the highest murder rates in the country in 2009, according to the FBI. Likewise, Anchorage, Alaska, and Abilene, Texas, which are not among the cities with the most overall crime, still had the second- and third-highest rates of forcible rapes in 2009, behind No. 1 Minneapolis. 
Read More: Usnews

 

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