STORM2K

Top 25 Most Dangerous Cities 2003

The Morgan Quitno Safest City Award is based on a city’s rate for six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. All cities of 75,000+ populations that reported crime data to the FBI for the six crime categories were included in the rankings

Can you go to sleep with the front door unlocked? Better check this chart first.


1. Detroit, MI
2. St. Louis, MO
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Camden, NJ
5. Washington, DC
6. Compton, CA
7. Dayton, OH
8. Baltimore, MD
9. Tampa, FL
10. Gary, IN
11. Memphis, TN
12. North Charleston, SC
13. New Orleans, LA
14. Richmond, VA
15. Trenton, NJ
16. Jackson, MS
17. Cincinnati, OH
18. Youngstown, OH
19. Cleveland, OH
20. Springfield, MA
21. Oakland, CA
22. Birmingham, AL
23. Miami, FL
24. Richmond, CA
25. Reading, PA

I am surprised Memphis is not #1. Interesting to know this. Thanks!

At the opposite end of the Morgan Quitno crime scale, Detroit, Michigan returns as the nation’s most dangerous city. The Motor City anchored the crime rankings in 1999, 2000 and 2001 before it was ousted last year by St. Louis, Missouri. Detroit is joined at the bottom of the crime rankings by (in ascending order) St. Louis, MO; Atlanta, GA; Camden, NJ and Washington, DC.

In addition to ranking the safety of cities, Morgan Quitno Press also examined crime in metropolitan areas. In those rankings, Bangor, ME was this year’s Safest Metropolitan Area. The Pine Bluff, AR metropolitan area ranked as the most dangerous.

Interesting that New York City is not in that list because it is known in decades to be a city with many crimes and when I was there in the late 60's in my kid days the city was like a war zone.But I haved heard that NY has improved it's crime situation greatly.

I'm surprised that Dallas wasn't listed on this.

Philly was not listed, but Reading PA was. That's a surprise to me.

Argh! Too close to home! There are some awesome places to visit in Detroit......but a lot of really scarry ones too!

I'm going to post this list on the fridge to show my 25 and 21 yr. olds! Somehow, they don't believe MOM when I say how dangerous Detroit is!.......p

Cincinnati #17???? Boy do I believe that!!!!!!!!
Seriously I've lived here my whole life, this list is spot on, except I think we should be ranked at least 15th.

Springfield, MA over Boston, MA... interesting.

Come on, Tom. The home of the B-ball hall of fame? Actually it is the outlying towns around Springfield that make it so bad. Thats where all the gangstas live.

I just knew Cincinnati would be on that list. And now we're front and center again in national news (Cincy cops beating African American suspect to the ground, and the poor man dies later). It's true our city limits has some crime and very poor areas. And yes it seems Cincy cops are corrupt, some, but our suburbs are safer. I don't feel unsafe living here. However during our 99 riots I felt unsafe. And very sad that we can't take care of city's problems.

Jeremy - I can only hope you're pretty safe over there in Northern KY too, as I am out here east of Cincinnati, in Anderson Township.
Mary

"Massachusetts Named the Smartest State" View 9-25-03 press release

"Minnesota Named 2003's Most Livable State" View 4-25-03 press release

"Amherst, NY still the Safest City; Detroit returns as the Most Dangerous" 11-25-03 press release

"Louisiana Remains the Most Dangerous State" View 4-25-03 press release

"Vermont Knocks out North Dakota as the Safest State" View 4-25-03 press release

"Vermont Repeats as Healthiest State for 2003" 4-25-03 press release

JCT777 wrote:Philly was not listed, but Reading PA was. That's a surprise to me.

I lived in King of Prussia and Norristown area. I believe that Motorcycle gangs have a strong presence in the Reading area. Lot of meth "labs" get busted in that area. Last I heard, anyway.


BTY our local news said that Williamsport was like the 20th safest in the US. There's still neighborhoods I wouldn't go into after dark. State College, PA was one of the safest. Biggest problem there is drunken college students. If they counted alcohol crimes, it wouldn't fare so well.

Iowa can't make any lists, no one knows where it is!!! ROFL!!

I was a little surprised at some of the cities too.....Compton #6 eh?? I thought that was the worst.....least according to the rappers.... Detroit doesn't surprise me....

Mississippi was just named the "Most Charitable State"

I can't believe Jackson, MS was on the list. I just knew it would be Vicksburg, MS.

#4 - Camden, NJ

Hmmm, not surprised by that one, though they are trying to revitalize the waterfront. It's not that far from me, about 15 - 20 miles.

Miss Mary wrote:I just knew Cincinnati would be on that list. And now we're front and center again in national news (Cincy cops beating African American suspect to the ground, and the poor man dies later).......
Jeremy - I can only hope you're pretty safe over there in Northern KY too, as I am out here east of Cincinnati, in Anderson Township.

Northern KY is for the most part safe, I do worry about Covington tho...don't go there often...

As for the death of the man in custody, he was found to have PCP and Cocaine in his blood, which could contribute to his behavior and, I suspect, his death as well...............

Here's the latest on the man killed in police custody, from 12WKRC-TV:

Coroner Comments On Death After Police Struggle

LAST UPDATE: 12/2/2003 5:35:19 PM

The Hamilton County Coroner said on Tuesday that he can't find any evidence police did anything more than necessary to subdue Nathaniel Jones, 41.
He died early Sunday after a struggle with police in Avondale.
Dr. Carl Parrott, JR. says Jones' heart was in such poor condition that any unusual activity could have caused it to fail. But, Parrott has not officially ruled on the cause of death.
Police released a video tape of the struggle outside a White Castle restaurant on Mitchell Avenue near Vine Street.
Parrott says Jones' enlarged heart would be expected from someone who was obese and used large amounts of cocaine.
Jones weighed nearly 350 pounds.
Both cocaine and PCP, also known as angel dust, were found in Jones' blood.
Baptist ministers on Tuesday asked for a federal investigation into the incident, and said they were upset that city leaders had rushed to defend the officers before the investigation was finished. They are also asking pastors to end their services early on Sunday, so parishioners can attend a rally at City Hall.
Officers appear to have followed procedures when clubbing Jones, who weighed nearly 350 pounds, police chief Thomas Streicher said Tuesday.
``Up to this point, it appears every single procedure was followed.''
A civilian watchdog panel born from riots that followed the shooting of an unarmed black man in 2001 is looking into the death of Nathaniel Jones, who also is black.
Jones, 41, committed a felony once he struck an officer, and the officers had to try to arrest him, Streicher said.
Jones died at a hospital shortly after being taken into custody Sunday. He was struck repeatedly with metal nightsticks in a confrontation captured by police cruiser video camera.
The Citizen Complaint Authority, created after the 2001 riots, was already looking into the death, with investigators going to the parking lot of a fast food restaurant where the beating took place
hours later, panel chairwoman Nancy Minson said.
She said the complaint board began its investigation on its own, which it can do when a death involves police or when shots are fired.
Jones' family says it plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday. Jones' family has not yet spoken publicly about his death. 12News will have that news conference covered for you.

therock1811 wrote:

Miss Mary wrote:I just knew Cincinnati would be on that list. And now we're front and center again in national news (Cincy cops beating African American suspect to the ground, and the poor man dies later).......
Jeremy - I can only hope you're pretty safe over there in Northern KY too, as I am out here east of Cincinnati, in Anderson Township.

Northern KY is for the most part safe, I do worry about Covington tho...don't go there often...

As for the death of the man in custody, he was found to have PCP and Cocaine in his blood, which could contribute to his behavior and, I suspect, his death as well...............

Good points Jeremy. The PCP and cocaine I'm sure had a lot to do with his behavior. If you just watch the video, it appears as if the police officers were aggressive. However I've heard you need to listen to the audio on the video first to hear how aggressive the suspect was. He apparently attacked one of the police officers early on in the incident too. It's very hard to have a definite opinion in this example. I am very sad the man died, that shouldn't have happened. Heard he had a bad heart too.

Mary

Memphis SHOULD have been #1!!!! :o