Image courtesy of [Ani Od Chai via Flickr]
Crime
Paterson, NJ and Richmond, CA Report Major Drops in Violent Crime
Violent crime among the nation’s mid-sized cities is on a steady decline, according to the most recent data released today by the FBI. Richmond, California and Paterson, New Jersey are standouts in the field, reporting violent crime reductions of 38 percent and 21 percent, respectively for January to June 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. Richmond, the number ten most dangerous city and Paterson, number seven, led Rockford, Illinois (#2) and Springfield, Massachusetts (#6), which also reported modest violent crime declines.
The FBI’s semiannual report covers January to June 2014–the most recent period for which comprehensive crime statistics are available. Law Street’s analysis of this preliminary data for each of the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 appears below as an update to our most recent Crime in America Rankings published last Fall. Changes in these preliminary statistics, included below, compared with the same time period in the previous year provide key information on emerging trends in these important cities ahead of the full-year coverage of rankings that will be available this Fall.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES WITH POPULATIONS OVER 200,000.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES WITH POPULATIONS OVER 200,000.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAFEST AND MOST DANGEROUS STATES.
#1 Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock, Arkansas is the #1 most dangerous city with a population under 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Little Rock’s data was incomplete at the Uniform Crime Report deadline. If the data becomes available through the FBI, we will post an update with that information.
Click here for full coverage of Little Rock’s 2015 ranking.
#2 Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois is the #2 most dangerous city with a population under 200,000; however, it showed a marked decline in violent crime during the first half of 2014 versus the same time period in 2013. The city of 150,209 people experienced its greatest declines in the violent crime categories of rape (61 incidents between January and June 2014 versus 78 in the same period in 2013) and aggravated assault (648 versus 747 prior year). Total violent crime in Rockford fell nearly 12 percent from 1,009 incidents in the first half of 2013 to 892 for the same period in 2014. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.
Total Violent Crime: -11.6% (2013: 1,009; 2014: 892)
Murder: +42.9% (2013: 7; 2014: 10)
Rape: -21.8% (2013: 78; 2014: 61)
Robbery: -2.3% (2013: 177; 2014: 173)
Aggravated Assault: -13.3% (2013: 747; 2014: 648)
Click here for full coverage of Rockford’s 2015 ranking.
#3 New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut is the #3 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, New Haven’s data was incomplete at the Uniform Crime Report deadline. If the data becomes available through the FBI, we will post an update with that information.
Click here for full coverage of New Haven’s 2015 ranking.
#4 Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut is the #4 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Hartford’s data was incomplete at the Uniform Crime Report deadline. If the data becomes available through the FBI, we will post an update with that information.
Click here for full coverage of Hartford’s 2015 ranking.
#5 Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri is the #5 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000 and it showed very little change in its violent crime during the first half of 2014. Data reported to the FBI for January to June 2014 indicates that total violent crime in Springfield increased modestly by 3.7 percent with 942 violent crime incidents versus 908 during the same period in 2013. The city of 163,062 people experienced its greatest increase in violent crime in the category of aggravated assault, reporting 620 incidents versus 580 in the prior period. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.
Total Violent Crime: +3.7% (2013: 908; 2014: 942)
Murder: -16.7% (2013: 6; 2014: 5)
Rape: +2.3% (2013: 133; 2014: 136)
Robbery: -4.2% (2013: 189; 2014: 181)
Aggravated Assault: +6.9% (2013: 580; 2014: 620)
Click here for full coverage of Springfield, Missouri’s 2015 ranking.
#6 Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Massachusetts is the #6 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000; however, it reported a slight decrease in violent crime during the first half of 2014. The city of 153,586 people experienced a total violent crime decline of 6.7 percent, with 767 incidents reported during January to June 2014 versus 822 during the same period in 2013. The city’s greatest decrease was in the category of murder (six murders versus 12 during the same period in 2013), and it reported modest declines in both robbery (-7.5 percent) and aggravated assault (-6.2 percent). Reported incidents of rape remained about the same at 45 versus 43 prior year. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.
Total Violent Crime: -6.7% (2013: 822; 2014: 767)
Murder: -50% (2013: 12; 2014: 6)
Rape: +4.7% (2013: 43; 2014: 45)
Robbery: -7.5% (2013: 281; 2014: 260)
Aggravated Assault: -6.2% (2013: 486; 2014: 456)
Click here for full coverage of Springfield, Massachusetts’ 2015 ranking.
#7 Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey is the #7 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000; however, it reported a large decline in violent crime for the months of January through June 2014 versus the same period in 2013. Total violent crime in Paterson decreased by 21 percent for this period, with 571 incidents reported versus 723 prior year. Most notably, robbery in the city of 145,082 people dropped by over thirty percent (286 incidents versus 414 prior year). Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.
Total Violent Crime: -21% (2013: 723; 2014: 571)
Murder: +60% (2013: 5; 2014: 8)
Rape*: -18.2% (2013: 11; 2014: 9)
Robbery: -30.9% (2013: 414; 2014: 286)
Aggravated Assault: -8.5% (2013: 293; 2014: 268)
Click here for full coverage of Paterson’s 2015 ranking.
#8 Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan is the #8 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Lansing’s data was incomplete at the Uniform Crime Report deadline. If the data becomes available through the FBI, we will post an update with that information.
Click here for full coverage of Lansing’s 2015 ranking.
#9 Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas is the #9 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Beaumont’s data was incomplete at the Uniform Crime Report deadline. If the data becomes available through the FBI, we will post an update with that information.
Click here for full coverage of Beaumont’s 2015 ranking.
#10 Richmond, California
Richmond, California is the #10 most dangerous city in the country with a population under 200,000; however, it reported the greatest reduction in violent crime out of all cities in the top ten. Richmond, with a population of 107,341 people, reported a nearly 40 percent drop in total violent crime. Most notably, aggravated assault in the city decreased by more than 50 percent and there were five murders versus 12 during the same period in the prior year. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.
Total Violent Crime: -38.5% (2013: 660; 2014: 406)
Murder: -58.3% (2013: 12; 2014: 5)
Rape**: Not comparable (2013: 20; 2014: 23)
Robbery: -19.6% (2013: 230; 2014: 185)
Aggravated Assault: -51.5% (2013: 398; 2014: 193)
Click here for full coverage of Richmond’s 2015 ranking.
—
Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Chelsey Goff, and Anneliese Mahoney.
Click here to see full coverage of Crime in America 2015.
Source: FBI Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January – June 2014.
*The figure shown here for the offense of rape was reported using the legacy UCR definition of rape.
**Richmond, California, made the switch from the legacy definition of this offense, to the current revised definition. Therefore, it is not possible to compare the two years.
Comments