St. Louis has a reason to be celebrating for the wrong reasons. A report released today by the Morgan Qunito Press said that the city is the most dangerous city in America.
Violent crime surged nearly 20 percent there this year, when the rate of such crimes rose much faster in the Midwest than in the rest of nation, according to FBI figures released in June.
The study looks at crime only within St. Louis city limits, with a population of about 330,000. It doesn’t take into account the suburbs in St. Louis County, which has roughly 980,000 residents.
The safest city in 2005 was Brick, N.J., population about 78,000, followed by Amherst, N.Y., and Mission Viejo, Calif. The second most dangerous city was Detroit, followed by Flint, Mich., and Compton, Calif.
The national FBI figures released in June showed the murder rate in St. Louis jumped 16 percent in 2005, compared with 4.8 percent nationally. The overall violent crime rate increased nearly 20 percent, compared with 2.5 percent nationally.
The article also talks about how the Midwest is becoming increasingly ridden with crime, compared to other regions of the country.
While crime increased in all regions last year, the 5.7 percent rise in the 12 Midwestern states was at least three times higher than any other region, according to the FBI.
It's kind of ironic to see big cities like New York City and L.A., that people always tend to associate with crime and violence, not on the list. In fact, both cities didn't even make the top 25.
Here's a look at the complete at the top 10...
1. St Louis, Missouri
2. Detroit, Michigan
3. Flint, Michigan
4. Compton, California
5. Camden, New Jersey
6. Birmingham, Alabama
7. Cleveland, Ohio
8. Oakland, California
9. Youngstown, Ohio
10. Gary, Indiana
I live in one of the dangerous cities in America!
Its sad to see that two of the top ten are from my own state and it just goes to show that "smaller quiet" states arent always better.
Its sad to see that two of the top ten are from my own state and it just goes to show that "smaller quiet" states arent always better.
I live half the year in Flint, half the year in the Detroit area. God help me.
I thought for sure that Jacksonville, FL, did not make the list at all. With all the murders that happen there, I thought it would be at the top.
I am also incredibly disappointed that Birmingham is still considered so dangerous. It's not like it used to be.
Hmmmm...
-Lauren-
Interesting: Baltimore was up at number three or higher the last time a report like this was released.
I'm from Baltimore. We were at number 3 a few short years ago. Some Baltimorians don't see the change that the report show. I am one of them. I was expecting us to still be at the #3 spot. Maybe things are getting better, we just don't realize it.
Does it really surprise you that the cities on the top of the list were once major manufacturing centers with union jobs whose children today do not have the same kind of gainful employment or towns where gambling and casinos are the main industries? Did you notice that the safest cities were ones known for various computer industry jobs?
I was incredibly surprised that Little Rock did not make the list somewhere. The violent crime rate here has gotten out of hand... and it's not just Little Rock, it's everywhere in Arkansas. I did see that Hot Springs made one list, but am surprised Little Rock wasn't right there with Hot Springs.. It's a shame that people are so ignorant and cruel.
NYC actually made the safest 10 cities list. Go NYC!
"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." -Marcel Proust