Study Calls Detroit Most Dangerous City

Controversial Analysis Of FBI Stats Pushes Motor City Past St. Louis

(AP)  In another blow to the Motor City's tarnished image, Detroit pushed past St. Louis to become the nation's most dangerous city, according to a private research group's controversial analysis, released Sunday, of annual FBI crime statistics.

The study drew harsh criticism even before it came out. The American Society of Criminology launched a pre-emptive strike Friday, issuing a statement attacking it as "an irresponsible misuse" of crime data.

The 14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America" was published by CQ Press, a unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. It is based on the FBI's Sept. 24 crime statistics report.

The report looked at 378 cities with at least 75,000 people based on per-capita rates for homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. Each crime category was considered separately and weighted based on its seriousness, CQ Press said.

Last year's crime leader, St. Louis, fell to No. 2. Another Michigan city, Flint, ranked third, followed by Oakland Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Richmond, Calif.; and Cleveland, which was ranked the 10th most dangerous city.

Three other Ohio cities made the Top 25 list: Youngstown was No. 15, Cincinnati was No. 16 and Dayton was No. 19.

The study ranked Mission Viejo, Calif., as the safest U.S. city, followed by Clarkstown, N.Y.; Brick Township, N.J.; Amherst, N.Y.; and Sugar Land, Texas. Parma, a suburban Cleveland city, was ranked 23rd.

CQ Press spokesman Ben Krasney said details of the weighting system were proprietary. It was compiled by Kathleen O'Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, whose Morgan Quitno Press published it until its acquisition by CQ Press.

The study assigns a crime score to each city, with zero representing the national average. Detroit got a score of 407, while St. Louis followed at 406. The score for Mission Viejo, in affluent Orange County, was minus 82.

Detroit was pegged the nation's murder capital in the 1980s and has lost nearly 1 million people since 1950, according to the Census Bureau. Downtown sports stadiums and corporate headquarters - along with the redevelopment of the riverfront of this city of 919,000 - have slowed but not reversed the decline. Officials have said crime reports don't help.

Detroit Deputy Police Chief James Tate had no immediate comment on the report. But the mayor of 30th-ranked Rochester, N.Y. - an ex-police chief himself - said the study's authors should consider the harm that the report causes.

"What I take exception to is the use of these statistics and the damage they inflict on a number of these cities," said Mayor Robert Duffy, chairman of the Criminal and Social Justice Committee for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

The rankings "do groundless harm to many communities," said Michael Tonry, president of the American Society of Criminology.

"They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public," Tonry said.

Critics also complain that numbers don't tell the whole story because of differences among cities.

"You're not comparing apples and oranges; you're comparing watermelons and grapes," said Rob Casey, who heads the FBI section that puts out the Uniform Crime Report that provides the data for the Quitno report.

The FBI posted a statement on its Web site criticizing such use of its statistics.

"These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region," the FBI said. "Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents."

Doug Goldenberg-Hart, acquisitions editor at CQ Press, said that the rankings are imperfect, but that the numbers are straightforward. Cities at the top of the list would not be there unless they ranked poorly in all six crime categories, he said.

"The idea that people oppose it, it's kind of blaming the messenger," Goldenberg-Hart said. "It's not coming to terms with the idea that crime is a persistent problem in our society."

The report "helps concerned Americans learn how their communities fare in the fight against crime," CQ Press said in a statement. "The first step in making our cities and states safer is to understand the true magnitude of their crime problems. This will only be achieved through straightforward data that all of us can use and understand."

The study excluded Chicago, Minneapolis, and other Illinois and Minnesota cities because of incomplete data.

[glaswolf]

I find it curious that police groups have no problem citing Hi*sp**ic terminology which clearly damages the spanish surnamed indians and not they complain about crime statistics damaging city business and social environments. Demographic breakdowns would help clarify the situation. Some of us move around freely in environments others might fear because know we''re not really involved in the "activity" while the fearful see only random victimization. A city might have a high crime rate with some neighborhoods or people types seeing almost no nonfamilial crime. Scientists and citizens could get a better understanding if less information was concealed for political reasons, as opposed to legal.

[usayesterday]

High crime and low to no economic prosperity goes hand in hand.

But I''m sure the cities in Mexico and Canada, (where GM, Ford, and Chrysler moved some of their auto plants), probably have fairly low crime and good economic prosperity.

Buy American? NO!

Buy from the companies that actually SUPPORT America, not sell out America.

[tbweb]

How can that be, that picture looks so pretty. But I guess its like those pretty pictures you see in the African jungle, so clean, so pretty, but as soon as anything shows its face some predator pounces on it and then animal comes out of hiding and joins in the meal! The American urban jungle is a lot like that!

[Redoubt]

Sounds like sour grapes. Victims of crime don''t care about the various interpretations. The dead are dead, the raped are raped, the robbed are robbed...

If Detroit has a problem, it won''t help to hide behind words or spun up figures. You won''t ever fix a flat tire by calling it only flat on the bottom. You won''t lower crime rates by denying it exists.

[mitywhity]

It''s not these criminals are doing it to support their kids. They are self-serving animals who all need to go practice crime in Texas.

[jetranger7]

Well NOW, I would of thought that WASHINGTON DC, would of topped the list, because that where all the real crooks hang out, That is where all the Crooked-Corrupt Politicians hang out isn''t it ?? Besides Camp David, and Marthas Vineyard, and Crawford Texas ! I think a new study is in order,after these findings ! Professor, Columbo Detectiveof the 5th precint

[cyberus-2009]

And just think .. all those casinos were supposed revitalize Detroit ... instead it sucked what life it had out and returned it to the crime capital of years past.

[ms38654ob]

"In our rush to run out and purchase nooses..."

You don''t buy a noose, you make one. I guess you were never a Boyscout.

Memphis ranked number 9. Pretty dangerous place.

[Netterz]

Hrmmm, I live near Detroit, and have been there many times, for various reasons alone, both day and night, and have not once ever witnessed a crime. Being a whie female, I guess I shoud count my blessings that in my 40 odd years of living here, and going to Detroit, I have never been the victim of any of that. I have always found the people I have encountered freindly and helpful. I know there are parts of town that people should not enter, but thats true of ANY large city. I guess they didnt look out in CA, where all the gangs are killing off hundreds every day..

[Netterz]

Oh wait.... on the next page, the source of the info, our wonderful FBI provided the statistics. They also provided unwarranted ballistic evidence for 40 years, that probably convicted thousands of innocent people, by saying any lead could be tracked back to a person, just because they owned a box of bullets, that millions purchased mass produced. NOT A CHANCE. Same bullets mass produced are shipped everywhere. a 1st grader could figure that out, how did they get away with that for 40 years? They sure are a reliable source. I think I will go finish my x-mas shopping tomm, IN DETRIOT.

[gunownerdan]

The WAR ON DRUGS causes CRIME & VIOLENCE
www.leap.cc
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

[iceman_1960]

"You don"t buy a noose, you make one. I guess you were never a Boyscout."
- Posted by ms38654ob at 10:27 PM : Nov 18, 2007

I never could get the hang of it.

I guess that"s why I missed out on my Racist Lynching Merit Badge.

[iceman_1960]

"Memphis ranked number 9. Pretty dangerous place."
- Posted by ms38654ob at 10:27 PM : Nov 18, 2007

With all those crazed Elvis impersonators running around loose, I"m not surprised.

[iceman_1960]

Some better news on the race relations front:

National polls:

"Election 2008: Obama vs. McCain and Romney

Obama leads McCain by Three, Romney by Six"

Source:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_2008__1/2008_presidential_election/election_2008_obama_vs_mccain_and_romney

[luigi999-2009]

Gee, I bet the NAACP is really upset about this.

[likeablunchs]

'' ... the world is full of raped dead two year olds, let''s pump more bucks and votes than the rest of the world combined into treating two year olds like two year olds ... ''

[jetranger7]

#1-Most Dangerous City in the US, actually is Washington DC, thats where all the Corrupt-Fraudulent-Dishonest-lying POLITICIANS, Hang out, isn''t it ??? Well there you have it, the whole truth and nothing but the truth !!!

[Circa53]

Detroit is a HOLE! The mayor and council members have all been involved in criminal activities, and the local media ignores it.And the media can''t save it.Access the Det. papers,& online TV, radio, and take a guess WHO, or should I say,What is the Problem?? It''s the N-E-G-R-O-S!! They wanted the town, and they''ve had it for years, and it''s been downhill ever since. Guess who commits the crimes????

[shirk3-2009]

How on Earth could Philly not be on there? There are plenty of black on black, black guy shooting white guy crimes in Philly?

I won''t have this, Philly deserves to be on that list, why do they let Camden hog up all the glory?

By the way, the war on drugs only causes crime, if you sell drugs. You don''t have to sell drugs, you could say for instance get a job... I know it''s a lot to wrap your brain around, so sit down and think about it for a while. BTW what would you have? Should we just let people sell crack to children?

Also, the bullet trace thing...it wouldn''t let everyone who''s been convicted off of the hook, it''s but one part of the evidence. That report doesn''t only help black people, so it''s kind of funny that you would assume it would.

[raisingazona]

Gosh, who would have thought Detroit!

[luvny-2009]

If the shoe fits...wear it! It''s facts deal with it, the more there are living there the more problems period!

[ritabelindad]

The most dangerous places in America are the border towns and cities with Mexico. And Laredo, Texas is the worst, just ask the ranchers, farmers and everyday folks who live their. But the folks at CQ Press, who publishes these reports about urban cities, continues to ignore what is going on in these places. Are they in the pocket of the Mexican government? Anything is possible with the media.

[getit1776]

And not one word of this in the Detroit Free Press. Gangsta mayor bangin his ****** while his city driver waits outside, city council out of touch with reality, blackest city in America...what do you expect?

[gunownerdan]

Criminals Love Defenseless Victims

Self Defense
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com

[gunownerdan]

The ''war on drugs'' causes crime and violence.

www.leap.cc
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

[shiptonsarch]

Sorry the cities want to deny the facts. This is a good reason NOT to move into any of them.

[iceman_1960]

"Criminals Love Defenseless Victims"
- Posted by gunownerdan at 10:33 AM : Nov 19, 2007

That must be why there"s very little crime in places like Detroit, where so many people are armed.

[one_american]

Detroit sounds much more dangerous than Iraq.

Maybe liberal moonbats like Code Pink should hold a peace march there...

[camdennjjen]

Crime is everywhere...The laws must change so that criminals can get adequate time for their crimes. I am from Camden, NJ & yes, there is lots of crime because of poverty,unemployment,drugs,etc.) IGNORANCE DOES

[camdennjjen]

IGNORANCE does not help!!!!!

[gunownerdan]

Most violent criminals are repeat offenders. In Philadelphia I read about how a violent criminal was let out of jail less than a week after he tried to murder someone. No wonder crime is getting so bad!
A large percentage of violent crimes are also drug-related. When you give drug gangs and drug dealers a monopoly on billions of dollars in black-market profits, it can fund a large amount of crime and violence just like it did during alcohol prohibition when gangsters and bootleggers were running the streets using machine-guns.
STOP THE MADNESS
www.leap.cc
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

[iceman_1960]

"Detroit sounds much more dangerous than Iraq.

Maybe liberal moonbats like Code Pink should hold a peace march there..."
- Posted by One_American at 10:39 AM : Nov 19, 2007

More to the point, Moonbat Bush should have sent the troops to Detroit instead of Iraq.

What are they doing some 13,000 miles away in Baghdad, when America"s own cities are gripped with greater violence ?

[prolegomena]

Concealed carry... or unconcealed carry... might just allow citizens to retake their own communities. If local police departments deputized a healthy number of volunteer citizens willing to exercise their rights to carry, it might end this as well.

[iceman_1960]

A huge percentage of the citizenry of Detroit is already armed.

That"s why the murder rate is so high.

[gunownerdan]

Blaming guns for crime is like blaming matches for arson, or blaming the keyboard for misstyped words.

[iceman_1960]

You"ve got it backwards.

It is the Iraqi "citizens" who should be given weapons and the right to carry them, to take back their communities.

The troops should come back to patrol places like Detroit.

[iceman_1960]

"Blaming guns for crime is like blaming matches for arson, or blaming the keyboard for misstyped words."
- Posted by gunownerdan at 11:30 AM : Nov 19, 2007

Then crediting guns for self-protection is equally wrong.

[gunownerdan]

Don''t give credit to guns when they are used in self defense, give credit to the responsible gun owner who can safely and properly use their firearm.
a-human-right.com

[iceman_1960]

Guns are a huge factor in domestic violence homicides, particularly when alcohol abuse is also present.

The honest citizen who uses his gun for self-defense on Wednesday, can get drunk on Saturday and shoot his wife and kids.

If blaming guns for crime is wrong, so is praising guns for self-defense.

[iceman_1960]

Just supply everybody with a very loud police whistle.

Studies have shown that is effective in deterring crime.

And they cannot be used by a drunk to murder his family.

[iceman_1960]

It"s a plain as day, that the presence in Detroit of a large number of armed citizens, has not reduced crime.

It has increased the murder rate.

[iceman_1960]

"Don"t blame guns for crime. Blame criminals."

That"s like saying, "Don"t waste time researching HIV. HIV doesn"t cause AIDS. People having irresponsible s*ex -- that"s what causes AIDS."

A ridiculous non sequitur.

Both factors are responsible and both should be addressed.

[gunownerdan]

Iceman_1960 said:
"...the presence in Detroit of a large number of armed citizens, has not reduced crime.
It has increased the murder rate."


I''m willing to bet that most of the people in Detriot who are armed are not law-abiding citizens who are armed legally. In Washington DC there are a large number of armed criminals even though all handguns are illegal.

[gangesdak]

Nobody is smart enough to outsmart the violent people. The police knows exctly who commits the crime, but their hands are tied. Answer is simple. Suspend the civil rights, do the profiling, go for search and seizure. A concerted raid at 3AM will do wonders. Our Civil Rights Leaders will be angry, but Detroit will be calmed down. Then repeat this in other cities.

[gunownerdan]

Citizens who have legal concealed-carry permits are much more law-abiding than the general public. They are very rarely involved in crimes. This is probably due in part to the background check and finger printing that is required in most states to carry a legal concealed weapon.

[libsluvsuvs]

the only way this liberal controlled city can reduce this is to make ''murder'' legal.

[beckajw]

ScarletPhD seek help

[hillaryin08]

Iceman_1960

So why dont your liberal leaders want to touch gun control with 10 foot pole anymore?

Because they dont want to loose the congress again.

[radiob-2009]

In Washington DC there are a large number of armed criminals even though all handguns are illegal.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by gunownerdan


And they reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Blvd. along with the congress.

[radiob-2009]

Vote for Drew Shelt he will take a real "bite" out of crime. The only non poodle lapdog running for the presidency.