Uniform Crime Report – Law Street

What Do Crime Trends Look Like in America’s Largest Cities?

Kevin Rizzo — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 19:38:09 +0000

Although crime is often a major issue in public debate at the local and national level, American perception of crime rates often does not match what the statistics tell us. While violent crime has generally been declining for the past several decades, public opinion polling since the early 1990s shows that most Americans have felt that crime went up in the past year, when more often than not the opposite occurred.

Given this persistent gap between perception and reality as well as false or misleading public statements about crime, it’s particularly important to look at the long-term trends. Law Street’s interactive crime statistics dashboard provides detailed information about crime statistics in America’s largest cities going back to 1985. With it, you can visualize crime trends for any city with available data from the FBI and a population greater than 200,000 people.

The tool clearly illustrates the general downward trend in violent crime since the early 1990s. Here’s a look at the violent crime rate per 100,000 people for the United States as a whole and for all cities with a population over 250,000. As you can see in the chart below, violent crime rates tend to be noticeably higher in large cities relative to the nation as a whole and the decrease that has occurred over the past several decades was primarily concentrated in those cities as well.

When you look at several individual cities, that downward trend is pretty easy to identify. Three major cities with some of the largest percentage decrease in crime rates are New York City, Los Angeles, and Dallas, as you can see in the chart below. The 2015 violent crime rates in these three cities dropped by more than half relative to the rates at their respective peaks in the 1990s.

While looking at trends over several decades helps explain how crime rates today compare to the particularly high rates several decades ago, more recent trends are also important. While many cities continue to see their crime rates fall, others have seen modest but significant increases in recent years. This is particularly true when you look at changes in murder rates. The number of murders in large cities saw a notable increase in 2015, which for many cities may be an emerging trend. Here’s a look at a few cities that have seen their murder rates go up for multiple consecutive years.

Although the national murder rate and the rates in the cities detailed above went up in 2015–the most recent year with available data–it’s important to note that the increase did not happen everywhere. In fact, there were several large cities that saw modest decreases in their murder rates. However, the recent changes remain notable even if rates remain near multi-decade lows.

To take a closer look at these cities and to identify trends on your own, check out the new interactive dashboard or read more of Law Street’s Crime in America coverage.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post What Do Crime Trends Look Like in America’s Largest Cities? appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2017

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 21:51:08 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media

Law Street Media’s comprehensive Crime in America 2017 coverage provides a look at the safety of our cities and towns around the United States. Based on data provided in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, Law Street analyzes the data to provide lists of the safest and most dangerous cities around the U.S. Take a look at the rankings and features below to discover how safe your city actually is. Check back regularly for continued reporting and additional features.

Rankings

Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Safest Cities Over 200,000

Safest and Most Dangerous States

Interactive Dashboard

Crime Trends in America’s Largest Cities

Charts and Data

Interactive Map: How Murder Rates Changed in America’s Largest Cities

What Do Motor Vehicle Theft Rates Look Like Across the U.S.?

FBI: Crime in the United States 2015

NOTES

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2017 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 21:30:19 +0000

Image courtesy of [OCParks_CA via Flickr]

Irvine, California, and Gilbert, Arizona, remained the two safest cities in the United States with populations over 200,000 for the fourth year in a row. Newcomers to this year’s list included Glendale, California, which previously wasn’t included because its population was below the 200,000 person threshold, and Scottsdale, Arizona, which was not included in the FBI’s statistics last year. While the overall rate of violent crime rose by a small margin in the United States–roughly 3 percent–the safest cities were a mixed bag, with both notable increases and decreases in violent crime rates.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Safest Cities Over 200,000.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

#1 Irvine, California

Image courtesy of Orbitgal via Flickr

Irvine topped the list of Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000 for the fourth year running. Irvine’s violent crime rate did rise by about 14 percent, but it was not enough to drop the California city from the #1 spot on the list. In raw numbers, Irvine only had 24 more violent crimes in 2015 than in 2014. Irvine’s population also rose, by over six percent. Additionally, Irvine saw two murders in 2015, compared to zero in 2014. The increase in the overall count mainly came from the increased instances of robbery, which rose by almost 60 percent to a total of 58.

Violent Crime Rate: 56/100,000 people*
Murder Rate: 1/100,000 people
Population: 258,198
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:1,272
Rank Last Year: #1

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*Irvine, California switched the way it reports rape incidents during the 2015 calendar year, moving from the FBI’s legacy definition to the FBI’s revised definition, which is more inclusive. For more information about the definition change, click here.

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 21:15:31 +0000

Image courtesy of [Alexbaumgarner via Wikimedia]

Rockford, Illinois, is the most dangerous city in the U.S. with a population between 100,000-200,000 people, displacing Little Rock, Arkansas, which now ranks as #2. Tallahassee, Florida moved onto the list at #8 after just missing the cut at #12 last year; Odessa, Texas also moved from #11 to #9. Many of the rest of the positions held steady and only saw small increases or decreases in their violent crime rates.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

#1 Rockford, Illinois

Image courtesy of Alexbaumgarner via Wikimedia Commons

Rockford, Illinois has displaced Little Rock, Arkansas, as the most dangerous city with a population between 100,000-200,000 people. Rockford saw a 28 percent increase in its violent crime rate last year, after a 10 percent decrease the year before. However, Rockford’s murder rate only increased slightly, from 11 per 100,000 people in 2014 to 13 per 100,000 people in 2015. The most dramatic jumps came from increases in the numbers of robbery and aggravated assault, rising by 22 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Violent Crime Rate: 1,585/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 13/100,000 people
Population: 148,178
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:529
Rank Last Year: #2

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated to remedy a spelling issue.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 19:24:10 +0000

"Peekaboo Arch. St. Louis, Missouri" courtesy of [DukeNewport Photography via Flickr]

St. Louis, Missouri moved from #4 to #1 this year on Law Street’s list of Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 after its violent crime rate rose by more than 8 percent. As violent crime increased nationally by nearly 4 percent, many cities in the top 10 saw substantial increases. Detroit is #2 on this year’s list, moving down after three consecutive years at the top of the list due to an 11.5 percent decrease in its overall violent crime rate. Notably missing from this year’s list is Cleveland, Ohio, which had ranked #8 on last year’s list. The FBI did not provide information for Cleveland this year, and therefore the city cannot be ranked.

All statistics are based on 2015 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES UNDER 200,000

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES OVER 200,000

#1 St. Louis, Missouri

Image courtesy of Kevin McCoy via Wikimedia Commons

A significant violent crime spike in St. Louis, Missouri put the city at the top of Law Street’s list of the Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000. The violent crime rate in St. Louis went up by more than 8 percent in 2015, going from 1,679 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2014 to 1,817 per 100,000 last year. That increase moved the city up from the #4 spot in last year’s rankings. St. Louis also saw 29 additional murders in 2015, going from 159 in 2014 to 188 in 2015. The city had a murder rate of 59 murders per 100,000 in 2015. Additionally, the number of robberies and aggravated assaults both experienced notable increases last year, going up 15 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Violent Crime Rate: 1,817/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 59/100,000 people
Population: 317,095
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:258
Rank Last Year: #4

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2015.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Infographic: Visualizing Crime in America 2016

Kevin Rizzo — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 13:00:54 +0000

Image copyright Law Street Media

Law Street’s annual Crime in America Rankings take an in-depth look at crime rates and important crime statistics for major cities across the country. The following infographic gives a visual summary of the report’s highlights and major findings:

Image copyright Law Street Media

Using statistics from the FBI, Law Street ranked cities, states, and metro areas according to their violent crime rates. Topping the list of most dangerous cities with populations over 200,000 is Detroit, Michigan with 1,989 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. The Memphis-TN metro area is the most dangerous metro and Alaska is the most dangerous state based on their violent crime rates per 100,000 people. The city with the lowest crime rate based on Law Street’s criteria is Irvine, California, which continues its streak at the top of the list of safest cities. Maine has the lowest crime rate out of all 50 states.

Violent Crime Ticks up Slightly in First Half of 2015

Kevin Rizzo — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:36:11 +0000

Image courtesy of [JJ via Flickr]

Violent crime increased by 1.7 percent nationally in the first half of 2015, according to a preliminary report released by the FBI. Although violent crime was up slightly from January to June last year, that increase comes during a long and continuous drop in violent crime. In every other year since 2007–with the exception of 2012, which saw a slight increase as well–the FBI’s preliminary statistics have showed a drop in violent crime in the first six months of the year.

The FBI’s preliminary semiannual crime publication details crime statistics for different population groups, regions, and individual cities for the first six months of 2015. Several cities experienced notable changes in their violent crime rates. Detroit, Michigan, for instance, experienced a significant decrease in its violent crime numbers relative to the previous year, as violent crime dropped by over 9 percent. The city’s violent crime decreased in every category, particularly incidences of murder, rape, and robbery. In total, Detroit had 581 fewer violent crimes in the first half of 2015 than it did in the same period of the previous year. On the other end of the spectrum was St. Louis, Missouri, which saw its violent crime statistics go up by about 23 percent. Notably, the number of murders went up by 58.6 percent, with 34 additional murders in the first half of 2015.

Many mid-sized cities experienced large changes as well. Rockford, Illinois saw its violent crime increase by roughly the same margin as St. Louis, going up by 23.2 percent. Lansing, Michigan’s capital city, experienced a notable decrease in crime, which fell by nearly 13 percent in the first half of last year.

See how the other cities on Law Street’s crime rankings fared in the FBI’s preliminary statistics:

Dangerous Cities Over 200,000: Detroit, St. Louis See Big Changes

Dangerous Cities Under 200,000: Mixed Bag of Results for Early 2015 Crime

Safest Cities: Five of Top 10 See Crime Decrease in First Half of 2015

According to the FBI’s recent report, changes in violent crime varied widely in different parts of the country. While the Northeast actually reported a 3.2 percent decrease in violent crime, the West saw crime go up by more than 5 percent relative to the first half of 2014. As 2015 progressed, murmurs of a crime increase spread, and while current data suggests that may be the case, such a conclusion remains preliminary. The largest increase by population grouping occurred in cities with populations between 250,000 to 499,999 people–where crime grew by 5.3 percent.

It is important to note that the FBI’s statistics are preliminary and may be revised as the FBI gets more data from local police departments. Additionally, trends may have shifted by the end of the year, which we will not be able to have definitive statistics on until the FBI releases its annual Crime in the United States Publication.

Changes in year-to-year crime statistics have been attributed to a wide variety of developments ranging from new policing tactics to factors as simple as cold weather. While national trends may be able to explain changes in crime rates, it’s best to look at changes on a case by case basis. While the national increase in the first six months of last year is notable, it is also important to realize that crime rates remain near historic lows.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Violent Crime Ticks up Slightly in First Half of 2015 appeared first on Law Street.

Dangerous Cities Under 200,000: Mixed Bag of Results for Early 2015 Crime

Kevin Rizzo — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 20:40:04 +0000

Image courtesy of [Cliff via Flickr]

According to FBI statistics released on Tuesday, the United States saw violent crime increase nationally by 1.7 percent in the first half of 2015 relative to the previous year. But it was a mixed bag for the most dangerous cities with populations between 100,000 and 200,000. Five of the cities saw increases in violent crime, three saw decreases, and two did not have information available from the FBI. Rockford, Illinois, the number two city on the list, saw the largest increase, as violent crime went up 23.2 percent in the first half of last year.

The FBI’s semiannual report covers January to June 2015–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 with populations 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 in the country with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2015 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.

#2 Rockford, Illinois

Rockford saw a sharp increase in violent crime in the first six months of 2015. While there was only a moderate increase in reported rapes and robberies in Rockford, the number of aggravated assaults increased by 28.4 percent. The number of aggravated assaults in Rockford went from 670 in the first half of 2014 to 860 in the same period in 2015. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +23.2%
(2014: 927; 2015: 1,142)
Murder: -10%
(2014: 10; 2015: 9)
Rape: +13%
(2014: 69; 2015: 78)
Robbery: +9.6%
(2014: 178; 2015: 195)
Aggravated Assault: +28.4%
(2014: 670; 2015: 860)

#3 Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri saw a moderate increase in its violent crime in the first half of 2015. While it seems as though the murder rate experienced a sharp increase based on the percentage change, the increase in raw numbers is relatively low, as the city had two additional murders in 2015. Robbery and aggravated assault increased by 17.1 percent and 15.5 percent respectively, accounting for most of the increase in overall crime. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +12.8%
(2014: 942; 2015: 1,063)
Murder: +40%
(2014: 5; 2015: 7)
Rape: -5.9%
(2014: 136; 2015: 128)
Robbery: +17.1%
(2014: 181; 2015: 212)
Aggravated Assault: +15.5%
(2014: 620; 2015: 716)

#4 Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan saw a decrease of 12.7 percent in the number of reported violent crimes in the first half of 2015 relative to the same period in the previous year. With the exception of rape, crime rates fell across the board. Due to the relatively low number of reported rapes in Lansing, the 2.6 percent increase is the result of just one additional offense in 2015. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -12.7%
(2014: 537; 2015: 469)
Murder: -20%
(2014: 5; 2015: 4)
Rape: +2.6%
(2014: 38; 2015: 39)
Robbery: -24.8%
(2014: 109; 2015: 82)
Aggravated Assault: -10.6%
(2014: 385; 2015: 344)

#5 Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford saw a slight increase in violent crime in the first half of 2015. Robbery had a moderate increase of 10.5 percent and aggravated assaults were up but by a very small margin. The number of reported rapes fell noticeably by 31.8 percent relative to the previous year. The murder rate was up by 100 percent, going from 7 in the first half of 2014 to 14 in the first half of 2015. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +3.9 %
(2014: 671; 2015: 697)
Murder: +100%
(2014: 7; 2015: 14)
Rape: -31.8%
(2014: 22; 2015: 15)
Robbery: +10.5%
(2014: 229; 2015: 253)
Aggravated Assault: +0.5%
(2014: 413; 2015: 415)

#6 Springfield, Massachusetts

Violent crime increased by 7.7 percent in Springfield, Massachusetts in the first half of 2015. The number of reported rapes and robberies were both down, but aggravated assault saw a notable increase of 16.3 percent. Additionally, more than twice as many people were murdered in the first half of 2015 as 2014, going from 6 to 13. In total, Hartford had 60 more violent crimes from January to June 2015 than in the same period of the previous year. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +7.7%
(2014: 777; 2015: 837)
Murder: +116.7%
(2014: 6; 2015: 13)
Rape: -15.7%
(2014: 51; 2015: 43)
Robbery: -5.4%
(2014: 261; 2015: 247)
Aggravated Assault: +16.3%
(2014: 459; 2015: 534)

#7 Springfield, Illinois

Springfield, Illinois followed the national trend with a slight increase in the number of reported violent crimes from January to June 2015 relative to the same period in the previous year. The total violent crime was up just 1.3 percent. Changes in the robbery and aggravated assault rates were almost negligible, and while the murder rate shows a 100 percent increase, that is a result of two additional murders in the first half of 2015 relative to the same period in 2014. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +1.3%
(2014: 551; 2015: 558)
Murder: +100%
(2014: 2; 2015: 4)
Rape: +11.9%
(2014: 42; 2015: 47)
Robbery: -0.9%
(2014: 111; 2015: 110)
Aggravated Assault: +0.3%
(2014: 396; 2015: 397)

#8 New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut is the #8 Most Dangerous City in the country with a population between 100,000 and 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2015 data. According to the FBI, Oakland’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.

#9 Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee had a modest drop in the number of violent crimes in the first half of 2015, going down 7.4 percent relative to the same period in 2014. Particularly notable were the 27.5 percent drop in robbery, and a 30 percent decrease in reported rapes. Aggravated assault, however, had a small increase of 1.8 percent. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -7.4%
(2014: 883; 2015: 818)
Murder: -47.1%
(2014: 17; 2015: 9)
Rape: -30%
(2014: 60; 2015: 42)
Robbery: -27.5%
(2014: 182; 2015: 132)
Aggravated Assault: +1.8%
(2014: 624; 2015: 635)

#10 Worcester, Massachusetts

Worcester, Massachusetts saw a slight decrease in violent crime of 5.4 percent in the first half of 2015. While aggravated assault was down by 8.8 percent, robbery was up by 8 percent. The number of reported rapes fell by 42.9 percent, however, given the relatively low number offenses, a drop from seven rapes to four yields a high percentage change. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -5.4%
(2014: 814; 2015: 770)
Murder: +0%
(2014: 4; 2015: 4)
Rape: -42.9%
(2014: 7; 2015: 4)
Robbery: +8.0%
(2014: 175; 2015: 189)
Aggravated Assault: -8.8%
(2014: 628; 2015: 573)

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Research and analysis by Law Street Media’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

FBI: Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report

Kevin Rizzo

The post Dangerous Cities Under 200,000: Mixed Bag of Results for Early 2015 Crime appeared first on Law Street.

Safest Cities: Five of Top 10 See Crime Decrease in First Half of 2015

Kevin Rizzo — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 20:39:46 +0000

Image courtesy of [Orbitgal via Flickr]

Nationally, violent crime increased by approximately 1.7 percent from January to June 2015 relative to the same period in 2014. Four of the safest cities followed the national trend with crime increases and one city did not have preliminary statistics available through the FBI. The 25.2 percent increase in violent crime in Fremont, California was the largest among the top 10 safest cities, as the city saw 29 additional violent crimes in the first half of last year. On the other hand, Plano, Texas experienced the largest decrease among the top 10 safest cities, as violent crime fell by 20.3 percent.

The FBI’s semiannual report covers January to June 2015–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 Safest Cities with populations greater than 200,000 people 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 Most Dangerous Cities with Populations Under 200,000.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAFEST AND MOST DANGEROUS STATES.

#1 Irvine, California

Irvine California, the safest city with a population greater than 200,000, followed the national trend with a slight increase in violent crime in the first half of 2015 relative to the previous year. Although Irvine had an increase of 3.7 percent, the increase in raw numbers appears much smaller–the city only had two more violent crimes in the first half of 2015 than it did in the same period of the previous year. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +3.7%
(2014: 54; 2015: 56)
Murder: +100%
(2014: 0; 2015: 1)
Rape: N/A
(2014 legacy definition: 9; 2015 revised definition: 11*)
Robbery: +17.6%
(2014: 17; 2015: 20)
Aggravated Assault: -14.3%
(2014: 28; 2015: 24)

*At some point during this year, the Irvine, California police department moved from the legacy definition of rape to the FBI’s revised definition. As a result, Irvine’s 2014 rape statistics are not comparable to its 2015 statistics. The FBI changed the definition of rape in 2013 to be more accurate and inclusive. For more information click here.

#2 Gilbert, Arizona

Gilbert, Arizona experienced a notable decrease in its violent crime statistics from January to June 2015. Violent crime in the city fell by 18.6 percent, which was the second largest decrease among all of the top 10 safest cities. The largest decrease occurred in the number of reported robberies, which fell by more than 50 percent. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -18.6%
(2014: 113; 2015: 92)
Murder: +0%
(2014: 0; 2015: 0)
Rape: +44.4%
(2014: 9; 2015: 13)
Robbery: -54.8%
(2014: 31; 2015: 14)
Aggravated Assault: -11%
(2014: 73; 2015: 65)

#3 Fremont, California

Fremont, California experienced a 25 percent increase in violent crime from January to June 2015 relative to the same period in the previous year. In total, the city reported 29 more violent crimes in the first half of 2015 than it did in the first half of 2014. The largest increase occurred in Fremont’s robbery statistics, which went up by over 37 percent, from 51 in 2014 to 70 last year. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +25.2%
(2014: 115; 2015: 144)
Murder: +0%
(2014: 1; 2015: 1)
Rape: N/A*
(2014 legacy definition: 7; 2015 revised definition: 19)
Robbery: +37.3%
(2014: 51; 2015: 70)
Aggravated Assault: -3.6%
(2014: 56; 2015: 54)

*Fremont, California began reporting its rape statistics using the FBI’s revised definition of rape in 2015. As a result, its statistics are not comparable to the previous year. For more information click here.

#4 Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach went against the national trend with a modest decrease in violent crime in the first half of last year. In total, the city reported 22 fewer violent crimes last year than it did in 2014, a drop of 6.7 percent. The biggest change occurred in the number of reported rapes, which fell by 34.5 percent. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -6.7%
(2014: 327; 2015: 305)
Murder: +0%
(2014: 12; 2015: 12)
Rape: -34.5%
(2014: 55; 2015: 36)
Robbery: +4.1%
(2014: 123; 2015: 128)
Aggravated Assault: -5.8%
(2014: 137; 2015: 129)

#5 Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita, California is the #5 Safest City in the country with a population greater than 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2015 data. According to the FBI, Santa Clarita 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.

#6 Henderson, Nevada

Henderson, Nevada experienced a modest increase in violent crime in the first half of 2015. In total, Henderson reported 31 more violent crimes in the first half of 2015 relative to the first half of 2014, an increase of 15.7 percent. Much of that increase was the result of higher numbers of reported rapes and robberies, which increased by 54.5 percent and 20.3 percent, respectively. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +15.7%
(2014: 198; 2015: 229)
Murder: +0%
(2014: 1; 2015: 1)
Rape: +54.5%
(2014: 33; 2015: 51)
Robbery: +20.3%
(2014: 69; 2015: 83)
Aggravated Assault: -1.1%
(2014: 95; 2015: 94)

#7 Plano, Texas

Plano, Texas experienced a modest decrease in violent crime in the first half of 2015, going down 10.4 percent relative to the first half of the previous year. The largest decrease came in the number of robberies, which fell by more than 20 percent. Plano’s violent crime decreased in every category with the exception of murder which had a slight increase. Although the percentage of murders increased significantly, that change was the result of one additional murder relative to the previous year. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -10.4%
(2014: 249; 2015: 223)
Murder: +50%
(2014: 2; 2015: 3)
Rape: -2.1%
(2014: 47; 2015: 46)
Robbery: -21%
(2014: 81; 2015: 64)
Aggravated Assault: -7.6%
(2014: 119; 2015: 110)

#8 Chandler, Arizona

Chandler, Arizona also went against the national trend in the first half of 2015 with a decrease in violent crime of nearly 10 percent. In total, Chandler had 22 fewer crimes from January to June 2015 than it did in the same period of the previous year. Much of that decrease is the result of a 12.8 percent drop in the number of aggravated assaults. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -9.6%
(2014: 228; 2015: 206)
Murder: Went from 1 to 0
(2014: 1; 2015: 0)
Rape: +8.3%
(2014: 24; 2015: 26)
Robbery: -7.3%
(2014: 55; 2015: 51)
Aggravated Assault: -12.8%
(2014: 148; 2015: 129)

#9 Irving, Texas

Irving, Texas reported the largest decrease in violent crime in the first half of 2015, as the number of crimes dropped by 20.3 percent. That decrease is a result of a significant drop in the number of aggravated assaults, which went from 169 in the first half of 2014 to 112 in 2015, a drop of 33.7 percent. Although the percentage of murders reported in Irving increased greatly, that was the result of four additional murders in 2015. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: -20.3%
(2014: 271; 2015: 216)
Murder: +200%
(2014: 2; 2015: 6)
Rape: N/A*
(2014 legacy definition: 19; 2015 revised definition: 15)
Robbery: +2.5%
(2014: 81; 2015: 83)
Aggravated Assault: -33.7%
(2014: 169; 2015: 112)

*Irving, Texas began reporting its rape statistics using the FBI’s revised definition of rape in 2015. As a result, its statistics are not comparable to the previous year. For more information click here.

#10 Chula Vista, California

Chula Vista, California experienced an 8.9 percent increase in violent crime from January to June 2015 relative to the same period in the previous year. This increase is largely a result of a higher number of robberies, going up 13.1 percent relative to the previous year. The overall increase may also be a result of the Chula Vista police department’s change in its definition of rape. In 2015, the city began submitting rape statistics according to the FBI’s revised definition, which was changed in 2013 to be more inclusive and accurate. The data below reflects changes from January to June 2015 versus the same period in 2014.

Total Violent Crime: +8.9%
(2014: 292; 2015: 318)
Murder: +33.3%
(2014: 3; 2015: 2)
Rape: N/A*
(2014 legacy definition: 20; 2015 revised definition: 30)
Robbery: +13.1%
(2014: 107; 2015: 121)
Aggravated Assault: +1.9%
(2014: 162; 2015: 165)

*Chula Vista, California began reporting its rape statistics using the FBI’s revised definition of rape in 2015. As a result, its statistics are not comparable to the previous year. For more information click here.

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Research and analysis by Law Street Media’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

FBI: Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report

Kevin Rizzo

The post Safest Cities: Five of Top 10 See Crime Decrease in First Half of 2015 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime Rates in the Most Popular U.S. Travel Destinations

Kevin Rizzo — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 19:19:45 +0000

Image courtesy of [Aurelien Guichard via Flickr]

We often talk about crime statistics in terms of the safest and most dangerous cities, but many of the most popular cities in the United States rarely make those lists. In fact, many of the top travel destinations may actually have lower crime rates than you would think. We looked at the top 10 U.S. cities on Trip Advisor’s list of Travelers’ Choice Destinations to determine the most popular cities for visitors, and then broke down their actual crime rates.

A notable example of is Chicago, a city that many people think has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country. In raw numbers, Chicago does have a lot of violent crime–over 24,000 violent crimes in 2014–but given its large population, its rate does not place it among the top 10 highest. To break the top 10, Chicago would need almost 1.5 times as many violent crimes, given its current population of over 2.7 million people.

This is true for many of the most popular American cities, particularly those with very large populations. For each city on Trip Advisor’s ranking, we list its violent crime statistics, which include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. We also indicate each city’s rank in terms of violent crime rate among the 111 U.S. cities that have a population greater than 200,000 people and available data from the FBI.

All data is based on the FBI’s most recent Crime in the United States publication, which includes statistics from the 2014 calendar year. It is important to note that this is not a ranking of cities’ crime statistics, rather a look at how crime rates vary across popular American cities. A wide range of factors contributes to a city’s violent crime rate, particularly among cities of different sizes and demographics.

Check out the slideshow below to see how violent crime statistics varies among top travel destinations in the country.

Click here to see the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here to see the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Click here to see all of Law Street Media’s Crime in America Coverage

New York, New York

Image courtesy of Peter McConnochle via Flickr

Violent Crime Rate: 597 per 100,000 people
Overall Rank: #53
Population: 8,473,938
Total Violent Crime: 50,564
Murder: 333
Rape: 2,190*
Robbery: 16,518
Aggravated Assault: 31,460

The overall rank is relative to the 286 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000 people and available FBI data.

*New York began the year submitting rape data classified according to the legacy UCR definition. However, at some point during the calendar year, the agency modified its reporting methods and began classifying and submitting rape offenses according to the revised UCR definition of rape. For more details click here.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime Rates in the Most Popular U.S. Travel Destinations appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:37:36 +0000

Image copyright Law Street Media

While crime in the United States continued its downward trend last year, some metropolitan areas experienced relatively high rates of violent crime when compared to the rest of the country. According to the most recent crime data from the FBI, which covers the 2014 calendar year, the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area had the highest violent crime rate in both the south and the entire United States for the second year in a row. The Memphis metro area had approximately 1034 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Of the 15 metro areas with the highest crime rates, nine are located in the Southern region of the United States while none of the top 15 are located in the Northeast.

Check out the slideshow below to see the rankings of the Top 15 Most Dangerous metro areas across the United States. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Ranking metropolitan areas provides additional insight about crime in the United States because the statistics account for crime in a principal city as well as surrounding suburbs, which tend to be both socially and economically integrated.

#1 Memphis, TN-MS-AR

Image courtesy of James Blucher via Flickr

Overall Rank: #1
Rank in South: #1
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 1034
– Murder: 13
– Rape: 51
– Robbery: 270
– Aggravated Assault: 699
Population: 1,348,092

The Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area includes Crittenden County, AR; Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica Counties, MS; and Fayette, Shelby, and Tipton Counties, TN as well as the city of Memphis, TN.

More info on metro areas:

The Office of Management and Budget began delineating Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the 1950s in order to provide an established level of analysis for government reports and statistics. MSAs are characterized as having an urban core with more than 50,000 people and surrounding areas that have close social and economic integration. The FBI does not provide data on all of the 388 MSAs defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Click here to see the FBI’s explanation for why all MSAs are not included. MSAs are organized by counties or their equivalent. All statistics in Law Street’s Crime in America metro rankings are presented as rates per 100,000 people, and they are taken from the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States publication section on metropolitan statistical areas. To see the FBI’s data click here.

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Midwest Metros

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:36:44 +0000

Image copyright Law Street Media

The Springfield, IL metro area sits atop the list of the most dangerous metro areas in the Midwest for the second year in a row. According to the latest FBI crime statistics, which cover the 2014 calendar year, Springfield, IL had a violent crime rate of 767 per 100,000 people, the fourth highest in the country. The Wausau, WI metro area was the safest metro in the Midwest for a second straight year. In total, Wisconsin had five of the top 10 safest metro areas in the Midwest. In 2014, the Midwest region of the United States held about 21 percent of the country’s population, but just 19 percent of its violent crime.

The rankings below detail the violent crime rate for cities and their surrounding metropolitan area across the Midwest. Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metro areas across the South. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the Midwest

#1 Springfield, IL Metro Area

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #4
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 767
– Murder: 9
– Rape: 71
– Robbery: 138
– Aggravated Assault: 549
Population: 211,855

The Springfield, IL metro area includes Menard and Sangamon Counties as well as the city of Springfield.

#2 Rockford, IL

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #19
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 665
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 57
– Robbery: 144
– Aggravated Assault: 458
Population: 343,135

The Rockford, IL metro area includes Boone and Winnebago Counties as well as the city of Rockford.

#3 Saginaw, MI

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #21
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 660
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 82
– Robbery: 84
– Aggravated Assault: 486
Population: 195,891

The Saginaw, MI metro area includes the Saginaw County and the city of Saginaw.

#4 Flint, MI

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #22
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 652
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 70
– Robbery: 117
– Aggravated Assault: 458
Population: 413,337

The Flint, MI metro area includes Geneseee county and the city of Flint.

#5 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #24
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 646
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 39
– Robbery: 209
– Aggravated Assault: 390
Population: 1,971,378

The Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN metro area includes Boone, Brown, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Putnam, and Shelby Counties as well as the city of Indianapolis3, the city of Carmel, and the city of Anderson.

#6 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #25
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 634
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 33
– Robbery: 251
– Aggravated Assault: 343
Population: 1,573,272

The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI metro area includes Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties as well as, the city of Milwaukee, the city of Waukesha, and the city of West Allis.

#7 Danville, IL

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #30
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 592
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 91
– Robbery: 108
– Aggravated Assault: 392
Population: 79,939

The Danville, IL metro area includes Vermillion County and the city of Danville.

#8 Toledo, OH

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #41
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 559
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 50
– Robbery: 171
– Aggravated Assault: 334
Population: 608,517

The Toledo, OH metro area includes Fulton, Lucas, and Wood Counties as well as the city of Toledo.

#9 Battle Creek, MI

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #44
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 538
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 90
– Robbery: 65
– Aggravated Assault: 380
Population: 134,882

The Battle Creek, MI metro area includes Calhoun County and the city of Battle Creek.

#10 Springfield, MO

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #45
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 536
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 74
– Robbery: 94
– Aggravated Assault: 364
Population: 452,154

The Springfield, MO metro area includes Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster Counties and the city of Springfield.

Top 10 Safest Metros in the Midwest

#1 Wausau, WI

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 90
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 13
– Robbery: 9
– Aggravated Assault: 66
Population: 135,783

The Wausau, WI metro area includes Marathon County and the city of Wausau.

#2 Columbus, IN

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 110
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 17
– Robbery: 30
– Aggravated Assault: 62
Population: 80,345

The Columbus, IN metro area includes Bartholomew County and the city of Columbus.

#3 La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 113
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 23
– Robbery: 25
– Aggravated Assault: 65
Population: 135,985

The La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN metro area includes Houston County, MN and La Crosse County, WI as well as the city of La Crosse, WI and the city of Onalaska, WI.

#4 Midland, MI

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 124
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 42
– Robbery: 11
– Aggravated Assault: 70
Population: 84,059

The Midland, MI metro area includes the Midland County and the city of Midland.

#5 Eau Claire, WI

Click to enlarge

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 131
– Murder: 0.6
– Rape: 27
– Robbery: 12
– Aggravated Assault: 92
Population: 165,411

The Eau Claire, WI metro area includes Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties as well as the city of Eau Claire.

#6 Ames, IA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 132
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 41
– Robbery: 17
– Aggravated Assault: 74
Population: 93,130

The Ames, IA metro area includes Story County and the city of Ames.

#7 Appleton, WI

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 137
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 16
– Robbery: 11
– Aggravated Assault: 110
Population: 231,052

The Appleton, WI metro area includes Calumet and Outagamie Counties as well as the city of Appleton.

#8 Rochester, MN

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 141
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 29
– Robbery: 26
– Aggravated Assault: 85
Population: 213,400

The Rochester, MN metro area includes Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, and Wabasha Counties and the city of Rochester.

#9 Sheboygan, WI

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 163
– Murder: 0.9
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 18
– Aggravated Assault: 119
Population: 114,823

The Sheboygan, WI metro area includes Sheboygan County and the city of Sheboygan.

#10 Michigan City-La Porte, IN

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 166
– Murder: 5.4
– Rape: 8
– Robbery: 73
– Aggravated Assault: 80
Population: 111,335

The Michigan City- La Porte, IN metro area includes La Porte County as well as Michigan City and the city of La Porte.

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More info on metro areas:

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Midwest Metros appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:36:41 +0000

The Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ metro area is the number one most dangerous metro in the Northeast United States for the second year in a row. According to the latest crime data from the FBI, which covers the 2014 calendar year, the Vineland-Bridgeton metro had a violent crime rate of 511 per 100,000 people. The Bangor, ME metro area also retains its spot atop the top 10 safest northeast metro areas with only 77 violent crimes per 100,000 people. While the Northeast is home to about 18 percent of the U.S. population, it had just 15 percent of the nation’s total violent crime last year.

Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metro areas across the Northeast. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

#1 Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #54
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 511
– Murder: 11
– Rape: 29
– Robbery: 211
– Aggravated Assault: 261
Population: 157,616

The Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ metro area includes Cumberland County as well as the city of Vineland and the city of Bridgeton.

#2 Springfield, MA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #56
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 507
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 51
– Robbery: 136
– Aggravated Assault: 318
Population: 629,676

The Springfield, MA metro area includes Hampden and Hampshire Counties as well as the city of Springfield.

#3 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #75
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 460
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 34
– Robbery: 180
– Aggravated Assault: 239
Population: 6,054,007

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro includes the Metropolitan Divisions of Camden, NJ; Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA; Philadelphia, PA; and Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ as well as the city of Philadelphia, PA and the City of Wilmington, DE.

#4 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #85
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 436
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 31
– Robbery: 156
– Aggravated Assault: 243
Population: 1,135,581

The Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY metro area includes Erie and Niagara Counties as well as the city of Cheektowaga Town and the city of Niagara Falls.

#5 Barnstable Town, MA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #91
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 426
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 40
– Robbery: 32
– Aggravated Assault: 352
Population: 215,384

The Barnstable Town, MA metro area includes Barnstable County and the city of Barnstable.

#6 Worcester, MA-CT

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #97
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 421
– Murder: 0.9
– Rape: 25
– Robbery: 74
– Aggravated Assault: 321
Population: 856,152

The Worcester, MA-CT metro area includes Windham County, CT and Worcester County MA as well as the city of Worcester, MA.

#7 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #123
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 384
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 20
– Robbery: 177
– Aggravated Assault: 181
Population: 276,587

The Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ metro area includes Atlantic County as well as Atlantic City and the city of Hammonton.

#8 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #133
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 371
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 17
– Robbery: 135
– Aggravated Assault: 216
Population: 20,070,688

Includes the Metropolitan Divisions of Dutchess County-Putnam County, NY; Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY; Newark, NJ-PA; and New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ as well as New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Jersey City, NJ; White Plains, NY; the city of New Brunswick, NJ; and Lakewood Township, NJ.

#9 Trenton, NJ

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #151
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 347
– Murder: 9
– Rape: 11
– Robbery: 150
– Aggravated Assault: 177
Population: 371,608

The Trenton, NJ metro area includes Mercer county and the city of Trenton.

#10 Norwich-New London, CT

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #159
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 340
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 45
– Robbery: 62
– Aggravated Assault: 232
Population: 146,061

The Norwich-New London, CT metro area includes New London County, the city of Norwich and the city of New London.

Top 10 Safest Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

#1 Bangor, ME

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 77
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 12
– Robbery: 23
– Aggravated Assault: 40
Population: 153,425

The Bangor, ME metro area includes Penobscot County and the city of Bangor.

#2 State College, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 82
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 25
– Robbery: 8
– Aggravated Assault: 49
Population: 155,684

The State College, PA metro area includes Centre County and the city of State College.

#3 Gettysburg, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 102
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 20
– Robbery: 10
– Aggravated Assault: 73
Population: 101,545

The Gettysburg, PA metro area includes Adams County and the city of Gettysburgh.

#4 Glens Falls, NY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 111
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 47
– Robbery: 8
– Aggravated Assault: 57
Population: 128,487

The Glens Falls, NY metro area includes Warren and Washington Counties as well as the city of Glens Falls.

#5 Portland-South Portland, ME

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 128
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 26
– Robbery: 27
– Aggravated Assault: 73
Population: 522,033

The Portland-South Portland, ME metro area includes Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and York Counties as well as the city of Portland and the city of South Portland.

#6 Lewiston-Auburn, ME

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 142
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 42
– Robbery: 38
– Aggravated Assault: 60
Population: 107,711

The Lewiston-Auburn, ME metro area includes Androscoggin County as well as the city of Lewiston and the city of Auburn.

#7 Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 149
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 27
– Robbery: 40
– Aggravated Assault: 79
Population: 152,602

The Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA metro area includes Franklin County as well as the city of Chambersburg and the city of Waynesboro.

#8 Lebanon, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people: 154
– Violent Crime: 154
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 21
– Robbery: 34
– Aggravated Assault: 94
Population: 135,898

The Lebanon, PA metro area includes Lebanon County and the city of Lebanon.

#9 Lancaster, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 165.1
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 38
– Robbery: 51
– Aggravated Assault: 74
Population: 531,837

The Lancaster, PA metro area includes Lancaster County and the city of Lancaster.

#10 Johnstown, PA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 165.3
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 10
– Robbery: 35
– Aggravated Assault: 115
Population: 139,742

The Johnstown, PA metro area includes Cambria County and the city of Johnstown.

—
More info on metro areas:

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the South

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:36:37 +0000

The Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area tops the list of the most dangerous metro area in the South for the second year in a row. Memphis is also the most dangerous metro area overall according to its violent crime rate per 100,000 people, which in 2014 was 1,034. In contrast, the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY metro area is the safest metro in the South for a second year with a violent crime rate of just 92 per 100,000 people. In 2014, the South had about 38 percent of the U.S. population, but 42 percent of the nation’s violent crime. All of the data comes from the FBI’s Crime in America publication, which details crime statistics for the 2014 calendar year.

Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metros in the South. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the South

#1 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area

Click to enlarge

Overall Rank: #1
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 1,034
– Murder: 13
– Rape: 51
– Robbery: 270
– Aggravated Assault: 699
Population: 1,348,092

#2 Alexandria, LA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #3
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 812
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 31
– Robbery: 126
– Aggravated Assault: 648
Population: 155,023

The Alexandria, LA metro area includes Grant and Rapides Parishes as well as the city of Alexandria.

#3 Hammond, LA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #5
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 761
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 41
– Robbery: 97
– Aggravated Assault: 615
Population: 126,481

The Hammond, LA metro area includes Tangipahoa Parish and the city of Hammond.

#4 Jackson, TN

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #6
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 756
– Murder: 9
– Rape: 34
– Robbery: 113
– Aggravated Assault: 600
Population: 131,143

The Jackson, TN metro area includes Chester, Crockett, and Madison Counties as well as the city of Jackson.

#5 Lubbock, TX

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #10
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 738
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 52
– Robbery: 113
– Aggravated Assault: 568
Population: 305,514

The Lubbock, TX metro area includes Crosby, Lubbock, and Lynn Counties as well as the city of Lubbock.

#6 Lawton, OK

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #12
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 705
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 62
– Robbery: 150
– Aggravated Assault: 484
Population: 131,086

The Lawton, OK metro area includes Comanche and Cotton Counties as well as the city of Lawton.

#7 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #13
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 696
– Murder: 8
– Rape: 50
– Robbery: 140
– Aggravated Assault: 499
Population: 729,360

The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR metro area includes Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski, and Saline Counties as well as the city of Little Rock, the city of North Little Rock, and the city of Conway.

#8 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #14
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 685.45
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 63
– Robbery: 154
– Aggravated Assault: 462
Population: 2,319,802

The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL metro area includes Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties as well as the city of Orlando, the city of Kissimmee, and the city of Sanford.

#9 Pine Bluff, AR

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #15
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 685.37
– Murder: 18
– Rape: 63
– Robbery: 150
– Aggravated Assault: 454
Population: 94,694

The Pine Bluff, AR metro area includes Cleveland, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties as well as the city of Pine Bluff.

#10 Tallahassee, FL

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #16
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 679
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 70
– Robbery: 94
– Aggravated Assault: 510
Population: 377,234

The Tallahassee, FL metro area includes the Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, and Wakulla Counties as well as the city of Tallahassee.

Top 10 Safest Metros in the South

#1 Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 92
– Murder: 0.7
– Rape: 28
– Robbery: 17
– Aggravated Assault: 47
Population: 152,068

The Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY metro area includes Hardin, Larue, and Meade Counties as well as the city of Elizabethtown.

#2 Owensboro, KY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 128
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 29
– Robbery: 36
– Aggravated Assault: 63
Population: 116,963

The Owensboro, KY metro area includes Daviess, Hancock, and McLean Counties as well as the city of Owensboro.

#3 Harrisonburg, VA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 141
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 32
– Robbery: 13
– Aggravated Assault: 93
Population: 130,160

The Harrisonburg, VA metro area includes Rockingham County and the city of Harrisburg.

#4 Staunton-Waynesboro, VA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 148
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 28
– Robbery: 21
– Aggravated Assault: 93
Population: 119,879

The Staunton-Waynesboro, VA metro area includes Augusta County as well as the city of Staunton and the city of Waynesboro.

#5 Bowling Green, KY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 157
– Murder: 0.6
– Rape: 38
– Robbery: 44
– Aggravated Assault: 74
Population: 164,892

The Bowling Green, KY metro area includes Allen, Butler, Edmonson, and Warren Counties as well as the city of Bowling Green.

#6 Charlottesville, VA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 162
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 27
– Robbery: 26
– Aggravated Assault: 106
Population: 225,461

The Charlottesville, VA metro area includes Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, and Nelson Counties as well as the city of Charlottesville.

#7 Decatur, AL

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 167
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 24
– Robbery: 27
– Aggravated Assault: 114
Population: 153,346

The Decatur, AL metro area includes Lawrence and Morgan Counties as well as the city of Decatur.

#8 Winchester, VA-WV

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 176
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 57
– Robbery: 27
– Aggravated Assault: 90
Population: 132,823

The Winchester, VA-WV metro area includes Frederick County and Winchester City, VA and Hampshire County, WV as well as the city of Winchester, VA.

#9 Gainesville, GA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 177
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 16
– Robbery: 38
– Aggravated Assault: 118
Population: 190,345

The Gainesville, GA metro area includes Hall County as well as the city of Gainesville.

#10 Parkersburg-Vienna, WV

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 182
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 26
– Robbery: 8
– Aggravated Assault: 148
Population: 92,202

The Parkersburg-Vienna, WV metro area includes Wirt and Wood counties as well as the city of Parkersburg and the city of Vienna.

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More info on metro areas:

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the South appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the West

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:36:31 +0000

The Anchorage, AK metro area is the number one most dangerous metro in the West for the second year in a row as well as the number two most dangerous metro area overall. According to the most recent FBI data, which covers the full 2014 calendar year, Anchorage had 844 violent crimes per 100,000 people, an increase of over 6 percent from the previous year. California had four of the top 10 most dangerous metro areas while Oregon had three of the top 10 safest metros. In total, the West had roughly 23 percent of the U.S. population in 2014 as well as about 23 percent of the total violent crime.

Check out the rankings below to see the Top 10 Safest and Top 10 Most Dangerous metro areas across the West. All rates below are calculated per 100,000 people. Click here to read more information about Metropolitan Statistical Areas and these rankings.

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the West

#1 Anchorage, AK

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #2
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 844
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 127
– Robbery: 159
– Aggravated Assault: 554
Population: 316,696

The Anchorage, AK metro area includes the Anchorage Municipality, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the city of Anchorage.

#2 Stockton-Lodi, CA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #7
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 750
– Murder: 9
– Rape: 25
– Robbery: 209
– Aggravated Assault: 508
Population: 712,619

The Stockton-Lodi, CA metro area includes San Joaquin County as well as the city of Stockton and the City of Lodi.

#3 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #8
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 743
– Murder: 7
– Rape: 48
– Robbery: 268
– Aggravated Assault: 420
Population: 2,066,423

The Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV metro area includes Clark County, the city of Las Vegas, and the city of Henderson.

#4 Albuquerque, NM

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #9
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 740
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 54
– Robbery: 171
– Aggravated Assault: 510
Population: 903,982

The Albuquerque, NM metro area includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia counties, as well as the city of Albuquerque.

#5 Redding, CA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: # 11
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 707
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 62
– Robbery: 95
– Aggravated Assault: 546
Population: 180,406

The Redding, CA metro area includes Shasta County and the city of Redding.

#6 Fairbanks, AK*

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #23
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 648
– Murder: 12
– Rape: 110
– Robbery: 158
– Aggravated Assault: 369
Population: 34,712

The Fairbanks, AL metro area includes the Fairbanks, North Star Borough and the City of Fairbanks.

*A large portion of the North Star Borough is policed by Alaskan State Troopers, which report their data as one agency. As a result, data is only available for a portion of the Fairbanks metropolitan area.

#7 Madera, CA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #34
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 578
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 25
– Robbery: 65
– Aggravated Assault: 483
Population: 153,544

The Madera, CA metro area includes Madera County and the city of Madera.

#8 Pueblo, CO

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #36
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 575
– Murder: 6
– Rape: 96
– Robbery: 116
– Aggravated Assault: 357
Population: 162,854

The Pueblo, CO metro area includes Pueblo County and the city of Pueblo.

#9 Merced, CA

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #42
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 558
– Murder: 11
– Rape: 16
– Robbery: 91
– Aggravated Assault: 440
Population: 266,350

The Merced, CA metro area includes Merced County and the city of Merced.

#10 Farmington, NM

Click to enlarge.

Overall Rank: #46
Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 535
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 81
– Robbery: 46
– Aggravated Assault: 405
Population: 125,309

The Farmington, NM metro area includes San Juan County and the city of Farmington.

Top 10 Safest Metros in the West

#1 Albany, OR

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 98
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 15
– Robbery: 32
– Aggravated Assault: 48
Population: 119,734

The Albany, OR metro area includes Linn County and the city of Albany.

#2 Wenatchee, WA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 117
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 22
– Robbery: 19
– Aggravated Assault: 76
Population: 114,491

The Wenatchee, WA metro area includes Chelan and Douglas Counties as well as the city of Wenatchee.

#3 Corvallis, OR

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people: 120
– Violent Crime: 120
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 25
– Robbery: 18
– Aggravated Assault: 77
Population: 87,222

The Corvallis, OR metro area includes Benton County and the city of Corvallis.

#4 St. George, UT

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 135
– Murder: 1
– Rape: 33
– Robbery: 19
– Aggravated Assault: 81
Population: 150,723

The St. George, UT metro area includes Washington County and the city of St. George.

#5 Idaho Falls, ID

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 155
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 35
– Robbery: 7
– Aggravated Assault: 114
Population: 138,893

The Idaho Falls, ID metro area includes Bonneville, Butte, and Jefferson Counties as well as the city of Idaho Falls.

#6 Ogden-Clearfield, UT

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 155
– Murder: 2
– Rape: 50
– Robbery: 25
– Aggravated Assault: 78
Population: 629,218

The Ogden-Clearfield, UT metro area includes Box Elder, Davis, Morgan, and Weber Counties as well as the city of Ogden and the city of Clearfield.

#7 Cheyenne, WY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 160
– Murder: 3
– Rape: 19
– Robbery: 18
– Aggravated Assault: 121
Population: 96,236

The Cheyenne, WY metro area includes Laramie County and the city of Cheyenne.

#8 Bend-Redmond, OR

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 168
– Murder: 0
– Rape: 30
– Robbery: 30
– Aggravated Assault: 109
Population: 168,749

The Bend-Redmond, OR metro area includes Deschutes County, the city of Bend, and the city of Redmond.

#9 Casper, WY

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 184
– Murder: 4
– Rape: 23
– Robbery: 16
– Aggravated Assault: 142
Population: 81,960

The Casper, WY metro area includes Natrona County and the City of Casper.

#10 Lewiston, ID-WA

Click to enlarge.

Rates/100,000 people:
– Violent Crime: 188
– Murder: 5
– Rape: 26
– Robbery: 22
– Aggravated Assault: 136
Population: 62,666

The Lewiston, ID-WA metro area includes Nez Perce County, ID and Asotin County, WA as well as the city of Lewiston, ID.

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More info on metro areas:

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the West appeared first on Law Street.

Donald Trump Doesn’t Like Real Statistics So He Uses Fake Ones

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:48:59 +0000

Image courtesy of [Gage Skidmore via Flickr]

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump recently tweeted out some blatantly false statistics about murder in the United States. The tweet, which featured a graphic breaking down “USA Crime Statistics ~ 2015,” not only gets the facts about crime wrong but does so in a way that is pretty clearly racist.

Here’s the tweet:

“@SeanSean252: @WayneDupreeShow @Rockprincess818 @CheriJacobus pic.twitter.com/5GUwhhtvyN“

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2015

The graphic claims that the statistics are from the “Crime Statistics Bureau – San Francisco,” which does not actually exist. The San Francisco Police Department does have a Crime Analysis Unit that releases crime statistics, but it doesn’t publish information about the racial makeup of victims and offenders. For those statistics, we have to rely on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which is a comprehensive report of offenses known to law enforcement in cities, states, and regions across the United States. The UCR is the most authoritative source for crime statistics in the United States–Law Street uses it to rank the Safest and Most Dangerous Cities and States in America.

According to the Crime in the United States report for 2014, the most recent statistics available, Trump’s numbers are clearly off. In total, 5,472 black and white Americans were murdered in cases where the race of both the victim and the offender are known. Here’s the breakdown according to the report’s supplementary homicide table:

Blacks killed by whites: 7.6 percent

Whites killed by blacks: 14.8 percent

Whites killed by whites: 82.4 percent

Blacks killed by blacks: 90 percent

The most blatant inaccuracy in Trump’s statistics is his claim that 81 percent of white victims were killed by a black offender. In reality, that number is about 15 percent, and the number of black victims killed by white offenders is nearly four times higher than Trump’s statistics claim.

Generally speaking, most murders involve a victim and offender of the same race–so no, there is not a massive inequality in the number of white people killed by black people. It is also important to note that when you look at cases where the relationship between the victim and the offender is known, most murder victims already know their assailant–meaning that murder by a stranger is much less likely than murder by a victim’s friend, family member, or acquaintance.

Trump’s tweet also comes after a notably crude statement that he made a couple days earlier. After a protestor interrupted Trump at a rally in Alabama yelling, “black lives matter,” a fight broke out and the protestor was badly beaten. Trump was asked about the incident later and said, “maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.” He made a similarly controversial statement back in August after a homeless Hispanic man was badly beaten; one of the two alleged perpetrators cited Trump as his inspiration. When asked about it, Trump simply said,

I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again. But they are very passionate. I will say that.

In both cases, Trump refused to denounce what happened, all but condoning the violence.

Trump’s recent tweet isn’t the first time that he’s been called out for playing fast and loose with evidence–though it may be the first time he’s trumpeted completely fabricated numbers. When Trump announced that he was running for president he kicked off his campaign with a clearly offensive comment about Mexican immigrants. He said,

They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.

He later tried to back up his claim citing an article from Fusion reporting the tragic finding that as many as 80 percent of all Central American girls who try to cross the border are raped in the process. Trump decided that the article supported his previous statements and when pressed to explain the connection, he said, “someone’s doing the raping.”

Despite all of these tenuous and inaccurate claims, Trump has retained a remarkably high level of support among conservative voters. In fact, he is notoriously difficult to fact check. Even when he cites blatantly wrong statistics or does a television interview where he repeatedly makes false claims, his comments, unfortunately, have no effect on his high poll numbers. We’ll have to see if this total mischaracterization of crime data is any different.

See more from Law Street–the authoritative source for crime data: Crime in America 2016

Kevin Rizzo

The post Donald Trump Doesn’t Like Real Statistics So He Uses Fake Ones appeared first on Law Street.

Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2016

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 15:14:53 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media

Alaska is the most dangerous state in the nation for the second year in a row according to the latest violent crime data from the FBI. Despite a slight decrease in its violent crime rate from 640 per 100,000 in 2013 to 635.8 per 100,000 in 2014–the most recent year for which the FBI provides data–Alaska maintains its number one spot, followed by Nevada (635.6) and Tennessee (608.4). Law Street’s third annual slideshow of the Safest and Most Dangerous States ranks all 50 states from most dangerous to safest and details the violent crime statistics for every city in the country with a reported population of 25,000 or more. Each state’s qualifying cities are listed from highest to lowest rate of violent crime per 100,000 people. The category of violent crime is comprised of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES OVER 200,000
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES UNDER 200,000
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES OVER 200,000

GO DIRECTLY TO YOUR STATE:

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT,VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Alaska: #1 Most Dangerous State | 635.8 Violent Crimes/100,000 People

Courtesy of Travis via Flickr

Kevin Rizzo

The post Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Interactive Map: Crime Rates Across the United States

Kevin Rizzo — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 15:15:36 +0000

Image courtesy of [Nick Aldwin via Flickr]

The data below is from January 2014–December 2014 for all cities with a population over 100,000 people.

To search for a city or state use the search box on the right. To reset your view clear the search box and hit the home button on the top left of the map.

Click here to see the Top 10 Rankings and all coverage of Crime in America 2016.

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* The figures shown in this column for the offense of rape were reported using the legacy UCR definition of rape. See here for more information.
(1) The FBI determined that the agency’s data were underreported. Consequently, those data are not included in this table.
(2) The population for the city of Mobile, Alabama, includes 55,819 inhabitants from the jurisdiction of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department.
(3) This agency began the year submitting rape data classified according to the legacy UCR definition. However, at some point during the calendar year, the agency modified its reporting methods and began classifying and submitting rape offenses according to the revised UCR definition of rape.
(4) Because of changes in the state/local agency’s reporting practices, figures are not comparable to previous years’ data.
(5) The FBI determined that the agency did not follow national UCR Program guidelines for reporting an offense. Consequently, this figure is not included in this table.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Interactive Map: Crime Rates Across the United States appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:56:20 +0000

Image Copyright of Law Street Media.

Law Street Media’s comprehensive Crime in America 2016 coverage provides a look at the safety of our cities and towns around the United States. Based on data provided in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, Law Street analyzes the data to provide lists of the safest and most dangerous cities around the U.S. Take a look at the rankings and features below to discover how safe your city actually is. Check back regularly for continued reporting and additional features.

Rankings

Safest and Most Dangerous States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

Metro Area Rankings

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the Midwest

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the Northeast

Safest and most Dangerous Metro Areas in the South

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the West

Interactive Dashboard

Crime Trends in America’s Largest Cities

CHARTS AND DATA

Interactive Map: Crime Rates Across the United States

Interactive Map: Crime Rates by Metro Area

2014
Uniform Crime Report

2013
Uniform Crime Report

2012
Uniform Crime Report

2011
Uniform Crime Report

NOTES

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:55:04 +0000

Image courtesy of [Mike Boening via Flickr]

Detroit is the most dangerous city with a population over 200,000 for a third year in a row. Although Detroit remains at the top of the list, its violent crime decreased by about 4 percent. Indianapolis, Indiana also makes its first appearance on the list this year at number 10. All statistics are based on 2014 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Check out the slideshow below for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

#1 Detroit, Michigan

Image courtesy of Mike Boening via Flickr

Detroit, Michigan is the most dangerous city with a population over 200,000 for the third year in a row. Although Detroit remains at the top of the list, it did experience another decrease in crime, with its violent crime rate going down by 4 percent in 2014. The city saw a decrease in three of the four categories of violent crime, with drops in the number of murders, rapes, and robberies. Detroit had 18 fewer murders in 2014 than it did in the previous year, putting its total at the lowest point in 47 years. Over half of the city’s violent crimes were aggravated assaults, which went up by about 4.5 percent from the previous year. Detroit’s downward trending crime is a good sign for the city, which has been plagued with challenges after it declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2013.

Violent Crime Rate: 1,989/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 44/100,000 people
Population: 684,694
Officer to Population Ratio:1:295
Rank Last Year:#1

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2014.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:54:38 +0000

Image courtesy of [Ani Od Chai via Flickr]

Little Rock, Arkansas, tops the list as the most dangerous city under 200,000 for the second year in a row. The top three is rounded out by Rockford, Illinois and Springfield, Missouri. This list, which includes cities with populations between 100,000 and 200,000, is based on data released Monday by the FBI. Look at the slideshow below to see the full list of the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America under 200,000, and click here to see full Crime in America 2016 coverage.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

#1 Little Rock, Arkansas

Image courtesy of Ani Od Chai via Flickr

Little Rock, Arkansas, remains the most dangerous city between 100,000-200,000 people, with a remarkably high violent crime rate. Little Rock’s violent crime rate stayed relatively the same in 2014, with just a 1 percent drop, after a spike in 2013 put it at the top of the list. However, Little Rock’s murder rate did increase slightly, from 18 per 100,000 people in 2013 to 22 per 100,000 in 2014.

Violent Crime Rate: 1,392/100,000 people
Murder Rate: 22/100,000 people
Population: 198,217
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:356
Rank Last Year: #1

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2014.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 20:54:13 +0000

Image courtesy of [maziar hooshmand via Flickr]

The top three safest cities in the United States remained the same this year, with Irvine, California taking the number one spot, Gilbert, Arizona second on the list, and Fremont, California rounding out the top three. The top 10 also featured two cities that were not included on last year’s list–Irving, Texas and Chula Vista, California, at number #9 and #10, respectively. All statistics are based on 2014 data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Look at the slideshow below to see the Top 10 Safest Cities over 200,000 people in the United States, and click here to see full Crime in America 2016 coverage.

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

#1 Irvine, California

Image courtesy of Infratec via Wikimedia

Irvine, California, has maintained its position as the safest city in America for a third year running. Irvine is located in Orange County, California, south of Los Angeles. In 2014, Irvine experienced only one more violent crime than in 2013, leading to a very minimal three percent increase in its overall violent crime rate. However, Irvine saw no murders in 2014. Remarkably, Irvine’s police force is relatively small, with one officer for every 1,215 people. However, Irvine manages to keep an incredibly low violent crime rate, with almost half the rate of the next city on the list.

Violent Crime Rate: 49/100,000
Murder Rate: 0/100,000
Population: 242,971
Officer to Population Ratio: 1:1215
Rank Last Year: #1

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Alexis Evans, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Source:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2014.

*Irvine, California uses the FBI’s legacy definition for reporting rape. For more information, click here.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2016: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Nearly All Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Report Drops in Violent Crime

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 19:22:19 +0000

Image courtesy of [Mike Boening Photography via Flickr]

Nearly all of the Most Dangerous Cities over 200,000 on Law Street’s Crime in America rankings followed the national trend of declining violent crime according to new data released today by the FBI. While violent crime across the country is down 4.6 percent, #9 Most Dangerous Newark, New Jersey saw the largest overall decline (18.7 percent) out of the Top 10 cities , followed closely by #1 Most Dangerous Detroit, Michigan with a 15.5 percent drop. Defying the trend, however, was #3 Most Dangerous Memphis, Tennessee, which saw its violent crime increase slightly by 3.4 percent.

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 Over 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 UNDER 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 Detroit, Michigan*

Detroit, the most dangerous city over 200,000, experienced a significant decrease in violent crime during the first six months of 2014 relative to the previous year. Detroit, a city of 699,889 people, experienced decreases across every violent crime category leading to an overall violent crime drop of 15.5 percent. The city also saw a notable decrease in murder, which fell by 37 percent. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -15.5% (2013: 7,039; 2014: 5,949)
Murder: -37.0% (2013: 154; 2014: 97)
Rape: -17.1% (2013: 316; 2014: 262)
Robbery: -34.3% (2013: 2,310; 2014: 1,518)
Aggravated Assault: -4.4% (2013: 4,259; 2014: 4,072)

Click here for full coverage of Detroit’s 2015 ranking.

#2 Oakland, California

Oakland, California is the #2 Most Dangerous City in the country with a population over 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Oakland’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 Oakland’s 2015 ranking.

#3 Memphis, Tennessee

Unlike most cities on this list, Memphis experienced a slight increase in violent crime over the first six months of 2014. The data for rape in this city of 657,691 people increased by more than 20 percent along with slight increases in murder, robbery, and aggravated assault. Memphis is one of two cities on this list to experience an increase in violent crime levels. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: +3.4% (2013: 5,413 ; 2014: 5,597)
Murder: +6.5% (2013: 66 ; 2014:62)
Rape: +20.1% (2013: 209; 2014: 251)
Robbery: +2.9% (2013: 1,508; 2014:1,552)
Aggravated Assault: +2.6% (2013: 3,634; 2014: 3,728)

Click here for full coverage of Memphis’ 2015 ranking.

#4 St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri, the #4 Most Dangerous City with a population over 200,000 experienced a modest decrease in violent crime in the first six months of 2014. Fueled by a sharp drop in robbery, which was down 12.6 percent, overall violent crime in the city of 318,563 fell by 5.6 percent. Despite the general decline, St. Louis did have a notable increase in its number of murders, which was up by nine cases over the previous year. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -5.6% (2013: 2,419; 2014: 2,284)
Murder: +18.4% (2013: 49; 2014: 58)
Rape: -11.1% (2013: 162; 2014: 144)
Robbery: -12.7% (2013: 680 ; 2014: 594)
Aggravated Assault: -2.6% (2013: 1,528; 2014: 1,488)

Click here for full coverage of St. Louis’ 2015 ranking.

#5 Cleveland, Ohio**

Cleveland, the #5 Most Dangerous City over 200,000 saw a decrease in nearly every category of violent crime during the first six months of 2014, causing overall violent crime in the city of 389,181 people to drop by nearly 10 percent. The only increase occurred in the category of rape, which grew from 250 reported cases in 2013 to 216 in 2014. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -9.7% (2013: 2,725; 2014: 2,461)
Murder: -11.1% (2013: 27; 2014: 24)
Rape: +15.7% (2013: 216 ; 2014: 250)
Robbery: -13.8% (2013: 1,621; 2014:1,397)
Aggravated Assault: -8.3% (2013: 861; 2014: 790)

Click here for full coverage of Cleveland’s 2015 ranking.

#6 Baltimore, Maryland

Overall violent crime in #6 Most Dangerous City Baltimore decreased by nearly 8 percent during the first six months of 2014. The number of murders in the city of 622,671 people dropped from 115 in 2013 to 99 in 2014, a 13.9 percent decrease. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -7.9% (2013: 4,329; 2014: 3,989 )
Murder: -13.9% (2013: 115; 2014: 99)
Rape: -13.4% (2013: 149; 2014: 129)***
Robbery: -7.2% (2013: 1,769; 2014: 1,641)
Aggravated Assault: -7.7% (2013: 2,296; 2014: 2,120)

Click here for full coverage of Baltimore’s 2015 ranking.

#7 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the #7 Most Dangerous City with a population greater than 200,000, held its violent crime levels constant in the first six months of 2014 relative to the previous year. Although the city of 600,805 people saw 29 fewer rapes in 2014, an 18.8 percent decrease, other violent crime categories remained nearly the same. Overall, the city’s violent crime went up by just 0.1 percent. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: +0.1% (2013: 3,840; 2014: 3,844)
Murder: +2.7% (2013: 37; 2014: 38)
Rape: -13.8% (2013: 210; 2014: 181)
Robbery: +2.2% (2013: 1,470; 2014: 1,503)
Aggravated Assault: -0.1% (2013: 2,123; 2014: 2,122)

Click here for full coverage of Milwaukee’s 2015 ranking.

#8 Birmingham, Alabama

According to the FBI, Birmingham’s aggravated assault numbers were overreported, which prevents a violent crime total from being accurately determined. Although we cannot tell whether or not the overall violent crime went up or down in the city of 212,001, we do know that it had a very large decrease in the number of murders. The city saw just 19 murders in the first six months of 2014, a decrease of 50 percent from the prior period. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: N/A
Murder: -50% (2013: 38; 2014: 19)
Rape: +6.3% (2013: 79; 2014: 84)
Robbery: -5.4% (2013: 479; 2014: 453)
Aggravated Assault: % change is unavailable (2013: 782)****

Click here for full coverage of Birmingham’s 2015 ranking.

#9 Newark, New Jersey

Overall violent crime decreased significantly in Newark, dropping 18.7 percent in the first six months of 2014 when compared to the first six months of the previous year. This overall decrease was largely a result of declines in the number of robberies and aggravated assaults, which fell by 20.4 percent and 17 percent respectively. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -18.7% (2013:1,666 ; 2014: 1,355)
Murder: +4.9% (2013: 41; 2014: 43)
Rape: -8.7% (2013: 23; 2014: 21)***
Robbery: -20.5% (2013: 1,120; 2014: 891)
Aggravated Assault: -17.0% (2013: 482; 2014: 400)

Click here for full coverage of Newark’s 2015 ranking.

#10 Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri, the #10 Most Dangerous City with a population over 200,000 also experienced a notable decrease in violent crime during the first six months of 2014. The city of 465,514 people saw a decrease in every violent crime category leading to a 14.9 percent drop overall. Most notably, the total number of murders decreased by more than 45 percent, going from 46 cases in the first six months of 2013 to 25 during the same period in 2014. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -14.9% (2013: 2,895; 2014: 2,465)
Murder: -45.7% (2013: 46; 2014: 25)
Rape: -34.9% (2013: 212; 2014: 138)
Robbery: -17.5% (2013: 776; 2014: 640)
Aggravated Assault: -10.7% (2013: 1,861; 2014: 1,662)

Click here for full coverage of Kansas City’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 FBI determined that the agency’s data were underreported. Consequently, those data are not included in this report.

**Because of changes in the local agency’s reporting practices, figures are not comparable to previous years’ data.

***The data for rape was reported using the FBI’s legacy definition of this offense, not the current revised definition. For further explanation, please click here.

****The FBI determined that the agency’s data were overreported. Consequently, those data are not included in this report.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Nearly All Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Report Drops in Violent Crime appeared first on Law Street.

Paterson, NJ and Richmond, CA Report Major Drops in Violent Crime

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 19:20:56 +0000

Image courtesy of [Ani Od Chai via Flickr]

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.

Chelsey D. Goff

Chelsey D. Goff was formerly Chief People Officer at Law Street. She is a Granite State Native who holds a Master of Public Policy in Urban Policy from the George Washington University. She’s passionate about social justice issues, politics — especially those in First in the Nation New Hampshire — and all things Bravo. Contact Chelsey at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Paterson, NJ and Richmond, CA Report Major Drops in Violent Crime appeared first on Law Street.

Not All of America’s Safest Cities Followed Trend of Declining Crime

Anneliese Mahoney — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 19:18:30 +0000

Image courtesy of [Orbitgal via Flickr]

In the latest Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, the FBI reported a nationwide violent crime decrease of 4.6 percent when comparing the first half of 2014 to the first half of 2013. That’s good news, and for the most part, the Top 10 Safest Cities fell in line with the national trend. Fremont, California, the #3 Safest City in the country, saw a notable violent crime drop of nearly 25 percent; however, some top 10 ranking safe cities cannot say the same. Henderson, Nevada, the #5 Safest City in the country, reported nearly 20 percent more violent crimes as compared with the same period prior year.

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 Safest Cities Over 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 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES WITH POPULATIONS UNDER 200,000.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SAFEST AND MOST DANGEROUS STATES.

#1 Irvine, California

Overall, the violent crime in Irvine, the safest city in the United States, fell by 16.4 percent. In January to June 2014, murder, rape, and aggravated assault in the city of 235,830 people all fell, although there was a slight uptick in robberies. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -16.4% (2013: 55, 2014: 46)
Murder: -100% (2013: 2; 2014: 0)
Rape: -33.3% (2013: 6; 2014: 4)*
Robbery: +6.3% (2013: 16; 2014: 17)
Aggravated Assault: -19.4% (2013: 31; 2014: 25)

Click here for full coverage of Irvine’s 2015 ranking.

#2 Gilbert, Arizona

Gilbert, the second safest city in the United States, saw a slight uptick in crime for this period. The most notable increase for this city of 225,232 was in robbery; over the same months in 2013, Gilbert saw only 23 incidents of the crime; however, in the first six months of 2014, there were 32. Overall, however, Gilbert’s increase in crime was rather small. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: +5.8% (2013: 103; 2014: 109)
Murder: -100% (2013: 1; 2014: 0)
Rape: +33.3%* (2013: 6; 2014: 8)
Robbery: +39.1% (2013: 23; 2014: 32)
Aggravated Assault: -5.5% (2013: 73; 2014: 69)

Click here for full coverage of Gilbert’s 2015 ranking.

#3 Fremont, California

Fremont’s crime dropped across the board, including a large drop in rape and robbery cases, and a smaller decrease in aggravated assault. With a nearly 26 percent drop in violent crime for the #3 Safest City in the country with a population of 224,475, Fremont saw the largest drop in crime among all of the safest cities over 200,000. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -25.8% (2013: 155; 2014: 115)
Murder: +/- 0% (2013: 1; 2014: 1)
Rape: -41.7% (2013: 12; 2014: 7)*
Robbery: -36.3% (2013: 80; 2014: 51)
Aggravated Assault: -9.7% (2013: 62; 2014: 56)

Click here for full coverage of Fremont’s 2015 ranking.

#4 Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita saw an increase in violent crime of nearly 13 percent in the first half of 2014; robbery and aggravated assault incidences in particular increased. Rape, however, decreased slightly, and the murder rate remained stagnant at just one case for each period for the city of 204,951 people. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: +12.6% (2013: 135; 2014: 152)
Murder: +/- 0% (2013: 1; 2014: 1)
Rape: -18.2% (2013: 11; 2014: 9)*
Robbery: +25.7% (2013: 35; 2014: 44)
Aggravated Assault: +11.4% (2013: 88; 2014: 98)

Click here for full coverage of Santa Clarita’s 2015 ranking.

#5 Henderson, Nevada

Of all the Top 10 Safest Cities, #5 ranked Henderson experienced the largest increase in crime. This may be partly because Henderson, a city of 268,237 people, changed the way it defines rape in accordance with revised FBI standards. The more expansive definition may be the reason that the overall crime rate increased by so much. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: +18.6 (2013: 167; 2014: 198)
Murder: -50% (2013: 2; 2014: 1)
Rape: Not comparable (2013: 16; 2014: 33)**
Robbery: -11.5% (2013: 78; 2014: 69)
Aggravated Assault: +33.8% (2013: 71; 2014: 95)

Click here for full coverage of Henderson’s 2015 ranking.

#6 Plano, Texas

Plano, Texas is the #6 Safest City in the country with a population over 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Plano’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 Plano’s 2015 ranking.

#7 Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona is the #7 Safest City in the country with a population over 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Scottsdale’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 Scottsdale’s 2015 ranking.

#8 Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach, Virginia saw the second highest drop in crime among the Top 10 Safest Cities in America. The rape, robbery, and aggravated assault numbers all dropped by an impressive amount, and while murder increased, it still reflects a very small number overall for the city of 450,687 people. Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2014 versus same period in 2013.

Total Violent Crime: -20.3% (2013: 394; 2014: 314)
Murder: +20% (2013: 10; 2014: 12)
Rape: -39.8% (2013: 83; 2014: 50)
Robbery: -22.8% (2013: 158; 2014: 122)
Aggravated Assault: -9.1% (2013: 143; 2014: 130)

Click here for full coverage of Virginia Beach’s 2015 ranking.

#9 Garland, Texas

Garland, Texas is the #9 Safest City in the country with a population over 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Garland’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 Garland’s 2015 ranking.

#10 Chandler, Arizona

Chandler, Arizona is the #10 Safest City in the country with a population over 200,000 people; however, we cannot provide an update on its preliminary 2014 data. According to the FBI, Chandler’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 Chandler’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 data for rape was reported using the FBI’s legacy definition of this offense, not the current revised definition. For further explanation, please click here.

**Henderson, Nevada, 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.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Not All of America’s Safest Cities Followed Trend of Declining Crime appeared first on Law Street.

Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2015

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 17:00:12 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media.

Alaska is the most dangerous state in the nation according to the latest violent crime data from the FBI. With an increase in violent crime rate from 603 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 640 in 2013–the most recent year for which the FBI provides data–Alaska moved into the number one spot, followed by New Mexico (613) and Nevada (603). Law Street’s second annual slideshow of the Safest and Most Dangerous States ranks all 50 states from most dangerous to safest and details the violent crime statistics for every city in the country with a reported population of 25,000 or more. Each state’s qualifying cities are listed from highest to lowest rate of violent crime per 100,000 people, which is comprised of murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.

Go directly to your state: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Alaska: #1 Most Dangerous State | 640 Violent Crimes/100,000 People

Courtesy of Travis via Flickr.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2015 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2015

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:01:49 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media.

With the vast majority of Americans living in cities and suburbs, safety is a major concern across the country. Each city has a unique set of challenges to address in order to provide security to its residents, and the results vary widely. Law Street Media’s Crime in America 2015 coverage is the first comprehensive look at the FBI’s latest crime statistics for every American city with a population over 100,000 people, as well as metro areas as determined by the FBI. Take a look at the rankings and features below to discover how safe your city actually is. Check back regularly for continued reporting and additional features.

Rankings

Safest and Most Dangerous States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

Metro Area Rankings

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the Midwest

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the Northeast

Safest and most Dangerous Metro Areas in the South

Safest and Most Dangerous Metro Areas in the West

Interactive Dashboard

Crime Trends in America’s Largest Cities

CHARTS AND DATA

Interactive Map: Crime by Metro Areas

Interactive Map: Is Your City Getting Safer or More Dangerous?

Nearly All Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Report Drops in Violent Crime

Paterson, NJ and Richmond, CA Report Major Drops in Violent Crime

Not All of America’s Safest Cities Followed Trend of Declining Crime

Detroit is the Most Dangerous City in America, Irvine the Safest

Flint and Chicago are Still Dangerous Despite Absence From Rankings

Stockton and Atlanta Drop Out of Most Dangerous Cities Top 10

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 in 2015: By the Numbers

Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 in 2015: By the Numbers

Top 10 Safest Cities in 2015: By the Numbers

2013
Uniform Crime Report

2012
Uniform Crime Report

2011
Uniform Crime Report

NOTES

Chelsey D. Goff

The post Crime in America 2015 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:00:53 +0000

Image courtesy of [Nicolas Henderson via Flickr]

Little Rock, Arkansas is the #1 Most Dangerous City in the United States with a population under 200,000 according to data released today by the FBI. Overall violent crime in Little Rock increased nearly seven percent over the course of 2013–the latest year for which the FBI has published data. Rockford, Illinois and New Haven, Connecticut switched positions this year to #2 and #3, respectively. Flint, Michigan, last year’s #1 Most Dangerous City, is not ranked this year as its population according to the FBI dropped 59 people below the 100,000-person threshold to rank. Look at the slideshow below to see the full list of Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America under 200,000, and click here to see full Crime in America 2015 coverage.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES UNDER 200,000 IN SINGLE-PAGE FORMAT.

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.

[SlideDeck2 id=28347 ress=1 proportional=false]

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Chelsey Goff, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for FBI data on each of the cities ranked above. Click here for all Law Street crime data.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Sources:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2013.

U.S. Census Bureau: Median household income, measured 2007-2011.

U.S. Census Bureau: Poverty, measured 2008-2012.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:00:28 +0000

Image courtesy of [Dan DeLuca via Flickr]

Detroit is the Most Dangerous City in America for the second year in a row, according to data released today by the FBI. Detroit maintains this ranking despite an overall violent crime decrease of 2.5 percent over the course of 2013, the latest year for which the FBI has released crime statistics. Oakland also maintained its #2 ranking for the second year in a row, followed by Memphis, which moved to #3 after its rank at #4 last year. Look at the slideshow below to see the full list of Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America, and click here to see full Crime in America 2015 coverage.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES OVER 200,000 IN SINGLE-PAGE FORMAT.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES WITH POPULATIONS UNDER 200,000.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES WITH POPULATIONS OVER 200,000.

[SlideDeck2 id=28300 ress=1 proportional=false]

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Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kevin Rizzo, Chelsey Goff, and Anneliese Mahoney.

Click here for additional information on Law Street’s crime-ranking methodology.

Sources:

FBI: Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics, measured January – December 2013.

U.S. Census Bureau: Median household income, measured 2007-2011.

U.S. Census Bureau: Poverty, measured 2008-2012.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime in America 2015: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000 appeared first on Law Street.

Crime Ranking Methodology

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:00:19 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media.

Law Street’s Crime Team used the FBI’s four major violent crime categories–murders, aggravated assaults, robberies, and forcible rapes–to create a standard measure of violent-crimes-per-100,000 people among all cities over 100,000 people reporting crime data to the FBI. This allows year-to-year and city-to-city comparisons. To derive the ratio, the total number of violent crimes reported to the FBI is divided by the city’s population, with the result then multiplied by 100,000. The formula for this calculation is shown below. Crime rankings were further broken down by population, with 200,000 used as the dividing point.

Violent Crime Rate = (Total Violent Crime in a City/City Population) x 100,000

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

Chelsey D. Goff

The post Crime Ranking Methodology appeared first on Law Street.

What the FBI Says About Its Uniform Crime Reports

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 21:00:08 +0000

Image copyright of Law Street Media.

The following is the full text of the FBI’s disclaimer about the use of its Uniform Crime Reports. The disclaimer appears here in its entirety.

Since 1930, participating local, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies have voluntarily provided the Nation with a reliable set of crime statistics through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The FBI, which administers the program, periodically releases the crime statistics to the public.Uniform Crime Report Ranking Disclaimer is from the FBI.

Usefulness of UCR Data

UCR crime statistics are used in many ways and serve many purposes. They provide law enforcement with data for use in budget formulation, planning, resource allocation, assessment of police operations, etc., to help address the crime problem at various levels. Chambers of commerce and tourism agencies examine these data to see how they impact the particular geographic jurisdictions they represent. Criminal justice researchers study the nature, cause, and movement of crime over time. Legislators draft anti-crime measures using the research findings and recommendations of law enforcement administrators, planners, and public and private entities concerned with the problem of crime. The news media use the crime statistics provided by the UCR Program to inform the public about the state of crime.

Pitfalls of Ranking

UCR data are sometimes used to compile rankings of individual jurisdictions and institutions of higher learning. These incomplete analyses have often created misleading perceptions which adversely affect geographic entities and their residents. For this reason, the FBI has a long-standing policy against ranking participating law enforcement agencies on the basis of crime data alone. Despite repeated warnings against these practices, some data users continue to challenge and misunderstand this position.

Data users should not rank locales because there are many factors that cause the nature and type of crime to vary from place to place. UCR statistics include only jurisdictional population figures along with reported crime, clearance, or arrest data. Rankings ignore the uniqueness of each locale. Some factors that are known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are:

Population density and degree of urbanization.
Variations in composition of the population, particularly youth concentration.
Stability of the population with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and
transient factors.
Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and job availability.
Modes of transportation and highway systems.
Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics.
Family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness.
Climate.
Effective strength of law enforcement agencies.
Administrative and investigative emphases on law enforcement.
Policies of other components of the criminal justice system (i.e., prosecutorial, judicial, correctional, and probational).
Citizens’ attitudes toward crime.
Crime reporting practices of the citizenry.

Ranking agencies based solely on UCR data has serious implications. For example, if a user wants to measure the effectiveness of a law enforcement agency, these measurements are not available. As a substitute, a user might list UCR clearance rates, rank them by agency, and attempt to infer the effectiveness of individual law enforcement agencies. This inference is flawed because all the other measures of police effectiveness were ignored. The nature of the offenses that were cleared must be considered as those cleared may not have been the most serious, like murder or rape. The agency’s clearances may or may not result in conviction, the ultimate goal. The agency may make many arrests for Part II offenses, like drug abuse violations, which demonstrate police activity but are not considered in the clearance rate. The agency’s available resources are also critical to successful operation, so its rate of officers to population and budget should be considered. The UCR clearance rate was simply not designed to provide a complete assessment of law enforcement effectiveness. In order to obtain a validpicture of an agency’s effectiveness, data users must consider an agency’s emphases and resources; and its crime, clearance, and arrest rates; along with other appropriate factors.

Because of concern regarding the proper use of UCR data, the FBI has the following policies:

The FBI does not analyze, interpret, or publish crime statistics based solely on single-dimension inter-agency ranking.
The FBI does not provide agency-based crime statistics to data users in a ranked format.
When providing/using agency-oriented statistics, the FBI cautions and, in fact, strongly discourages, data users against using rankings to evaluate locales or the effectiveness of their law enforcement agencies.

Promoting Responsible Crime Analysis

For more information about the UCR Program, visit http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr. For Web assistance, please contact the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division at (304) 625-4995.

Click here to read more Crime in America 2015 coverage.

Chelsey D. Goff

The post What the FBI Says About Its Uniform Crime Reports appeared first on Law Street.

Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2014

Kevin Rizzo — Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:30:31 +0000

For the first time, crime rates of all American cities with a population greater than 25,000 are ranked by state. See the slideshow below for the full ranking of America’s Most Dangerous States, or click the links below to go directly to the data for a specific state.

Jump to the slideshow

Law Street’s state-by-state slideshow of America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States details the violent crime statistics for every city in the United States with a population greater than 25,000 (1,583 cities in all). The data is from the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report: Crime in the United States 2012. Each state’s cities are listed from highest to lowest rate of violent crime per 100,000 people, which is comprised of murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.

Although the information is very important by itself, it is important to consider the context. There are several different factors that contribute to a city’s total number of violent crimes, including but not limited to economic conditions, population density, climate, and education levels, as well as a number of issues with the uniform crime report itself. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report remains the most comprehensive and accurate measure of violent crime in the United States. For more information, see Law Street’s Crime in America 2014 coverage.

Average violent crime rates for different sized cities, based on the FBI’s population grouping statistics from the Uniform Crime Report and its corresponding population estimates include: city of 25,000 – 49,999 people = 300; city of 50,000 – 99,999 people = 358.71; city of 100,000 – 249,999 people = 492.22; city of 250,000 or more people = 758.42. The state rankings are based on violent crime data from all cities in the state and are not limited to those with a population of at least 25,000.

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Click here to read full Crime in America 2014 coverage.

Tennessee: #1 Most Dangerous State | 643.6 Violent Crimes/100,000 People

Courtesy of Brent Moore via Flickr.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Slideshow: America’s Safest and Most Dangerous States 2014 appeared first on Law Street.

Arming the Police Against American Citizens, Part II

Jake Ephros — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:30:44 +0000

Recent media attention has shed light on many of the controversial aspects of police militarization, from excessive force to the use of paramilitary units in routine policing. Less frequently discussed, however, is the significant lack of transparency of these trends. The public lacks information about the extent and impact of equipment transfers and the increasingly hostile police culture. While the military has historically been able to invoke claims to national security to justify its secrecy, should local police departments, tasked to serve and protect our communities, be able to do the same?

Despite the significant lack of information on police militarization, Peter Kraska, a justice studies professor at Eastern Kentucky University, found some disturbing trends among law enforcement agencies. His article, “Militarizing Mayberry and Beyond,” documents research on police departments in small localities and demonstrates the recent changes in U.S. law enforcement. Kraska’s findings suggest that more and more low-population areas are forming SWAT teams, which are increasingly used for proactive deployment.

Roughly 40 percent of police paramilitary units, or PPUs, were engaged in warrant work in 1984. By 1995 that statistic skyrocketed: 94 percent of these specialized, soldier-like teams were used to serve warrants. Kraska notes that the majority “of these PPUs serve in the organization as regular patrol officers during their normal duties.” Despite being trained and designed for emergency situations, PPUs are most often deployed for routine practices.

Capt. Chris Cowan of the Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department, told the New York Times that an armored vehicle with a mounted gun, “allows the department to stay in step with the criminals who are arming themselves more heavily every day.” Kraska dismisses this perceived arms race saying, “there’s not evidence that the citizenry is grabbing this heavy weaponry themselves, going after cops.”

There is little information about the weaponization of criminals in general, which seems to be a recurring theme in FBI data collection. Kraska claims, “we don’t have good national-level statistics that provide us a good measure of the extent to which the police are fired upon using heavy weaponry, or the policing occupation is more dangerous.” The absence of data is twofold, as little information is available about the increasing militarization of both criminals and police forces.

The Relationship Between Police and Criminals

The U.S. lacks important data on the relationship between police and criminals. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report does include a publication called “Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted,” which contains an entire table specifically dedicated to the “Number of victim officers killed with firearms while wearing body armor and receiving torso wounds,” yet they provide no national statistics on killings by police.

“You would think that given these are all taxpayer-funded items, and that they’re coming either directly out of the Department of Defense or they’re coming out of the Department of Homeland Security, and they’re being transferred to supposedly democratically-controlled civilian-based police agencies all over the country, that sort of simple, straight-forward program based in tax dollars, that the data and all the information about that would be easily coughed up.”

-Peter Kraska

Where’s the Data?

It is disturbing that we know so little and that such information is consistently difficult to come by. To gather information about the effects of police militarization, we have to rely on nongovernmental organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or the Cato Institute. Moreover, the little information that is available is constrained, as many law enforcement agencies will not answer independent surveys.

While data should be limited in certain circumstances, I question the possible reasons for concealing or not collecting so much important data about our law enforcement. What justification could there be for not granting U.S. citizens access to information about our law enforcement? Agencies’ justifications for refusing to provide information to the ACLU include, “the requested documents contained trade secrets, concerns about jeopardizing law enforcement effectiveness… and the costs associated with producing the documents were simply prohibitive.”

As the issue of proactive, if not aggressive, paramilitary units becomes increasingly prevalent, the situation is exacerbated by the disturbing secrecy with which our government handles data. As Kraska says in his 1997 work, the deep bureaucracy behind this kind of law enforcement “acts as a barrier to police-community ties by fostering a ‘we-they’ attitude.” This barrier not only distinguishes our police from citizens, but also separates citizens from information about our police.

Why isn’t our government providing us with uniform information? Kraska says it is a result of “the nature of military bureaucracy, and increasingly police bureaucracy. The bottom line is it’s one of secrecy.” As police culture transforms into military culture, law enforcement naturally distances itself from the community. The increase in police militarization is inexorably linked with a tightened grip on information about law enforcement practices.

I know I will not stand alone in demanding different treatment by not only those who enforce the law, but also by those who create the law. I demand that this policing style come to end. I demand that the FBI Uniform Crime Reports include information on how many people are killed by our police. I created a petition on WhiteHouse.gov asking the President to request this and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI. We are all disenfranchised when deprived of information about the enforcement of our laws, so I think we should all demand.

#WeDemand

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Jake Ephros (@JakeEphros)

Featured image courtesy of [CHPSocialMedia via Wikimedia]

Jake Ephros

Jake Ephros is a native of Montclair, New Jersey where he volunteered for political campaigns from a young age. He studies Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at American University and looks forward to a career built around political activism, through journalism, organizing, or the government. Contact Jake at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Arming the Police Against American Citizens, Part II appeared first on Law Street.

A Mass Shooting, Ignored

Jake Ephros — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 19:25:46 +0000

Image courtesy of [ryanne lai via Flickr]

Seattle Pacific University lost one student and three others were wounded last Thursday in a shooting on campus. The university has suffered a tragedy, and while I do not disapprove of the time that the media has invested in covering it, I would like to call another, more prevalent, issue to mind. Shootings occur more frequently and affect an even greater number of people in our cities than on college campuses, yet have largely been disregarded or overlooked as news.

Forgotten and Forlorn

Inner-cities in America suffer greatly and receive little national coverage. On Friday, June 6, a man named Andew Perez was shot to death in his car in Camden, NJ. On the same day in Newark, NJ, two men were shot and killed and one woman was wounded. Between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, three people were killed and at least 19 others were wounded in Chicago shootings. On Saturday, a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed in Oakland, Calif. Mostly untouched by the news, there were at least seven gun-related deaths and even more injuries in American cities last weekend.

Events like the one at Seattle Pacific University and the recent mass shooting at UC Santa Barbara have revived fears about mass shootings in schools and colleges. The prevalence of these incidents is, while not inconsequential, a small part in the larger picture of American gun violence. Media attention for school shootings is always high. We become upset when a place that is created for improvement and learning face something as destructive as gun violence. Neglected, however, are the places that we do not assign such positive values.

As the FBI’s crime reports show, metropolitan areas are afflicted with high rates of violence. Violent crimes (robbery, rape, aggravated assault, and murder) have particularly high rates in cities. In 2012, each category of metropolitan counties had a higher violent crime rate than their non-metropolitan parallels.

Crimes occur much more frequently in metropolitan areas than they do in their non metropolitan counterparts.

Compared to urban areas, campuses are relatively safe, but the difference in the American mentality that surrounds college campuses and urban environments is significant. The poorest, most dilapidated parts of cities are forgotten and forlorn by the media. Shootings there are frequent, while shootings at schools are few and far between. This is not to say that people should care less about violence at schools like Seattle Pacific University, in fact, they should care more. People should care enough to advocate for and vote in favor of gun restrictions. Instead, people are shocked when shootings happen at schools but hear nothing about, or completely ignore, the recurring murders in America’s cities. While shootings and schools do not make sense together, we all-too-readily understand that gun violence and cities go hand-in-hand.

“Nearly Half of All Homicides”

A special report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), “Black Victims of Violent Crime,” shows how this violence is particularly prevalent among blacks.The report states that, “While blacks accounted for 13% of the U.S. population in 2005, they were victims in 15% of all nonfatal violent crimes and nearly half of all homicides”. The BJS used statistics from 1993 through 2005. The data comes from its National Crime Victimization Survey, which collects first-hand victim testimonies about incidents that have gone unreported to police, as well as the Supplementary Homicide Reports from the FBI. While staggering, this information is nothing new, nor are the 2005 numbers out of date. According to the FBI’s 2012 Uniform Crime Report, there were 3,128 white and 2,648 black victims of murder. These numbers, relative to the population proportions of whites and blacks, reveal an epidemic in the black community, and only reflect offenses reported to police. When taking into account crimes that go unreported and the instances of blacks being wrongfully shot by police officers, that murder rate would be even higher.

Uniquely, the disparity here is so great that the numbers are difficult to observe in a single graph. The difference is astounding. Although both have been decreasing recently, the homicide rate for blacks is dramatically larger than it has been for whites for over a decade.

In a Washington Post article last year, Dan Keating notes the difference between firearm deaths of whites and blacks,

“A white person is five times as likely to commit suicide with a gun as to be shot with a gun; for each African American who uses a gun to commit suicide, five are killed by other people with guns… Gun deaths in urban areas are much more likely to be homicides, while suicide is far and away the dominant form of gun death in rural areas”.

That’s one more statistic in a set of disturbing facts.

The Wall Street Journal compiled data sets from 2000 to 2010 in an article about blacks killing other blacks. Their charts show how no other group of people in the United States has been killed as frequently by firearms than blacks, not even when taking population proportions into account. Between 2000 and 2010 there were at least 60,028 black Americans were killed by firearms. A Slate.com article tracks the number of deaths as a result of school shootings from 1980 to 2012: the total is 297. Any shooting on a college campus deserves attention and a swift, appropriate reaction. But that number, 60,028, is the mass shooting we should be paying attention to.

Jake Ephros

The post A Mass Shooting, Ignored appeared first on Law Street.

Behind the FBI’s Crime Statistics

Kevin Rizzo — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 16:15:00 +0000

Here at Law Street, we focus a lot of attention on the FBI’s annual and semiannual crime statistics, yet these numbers often receive a lot of criticism and are generally not seen as a perfect measure of crime in America. However, these statistics remain the best and most official information available to the public.

According to an FBI document on the proper use of its crime reporting statistics, their reports are created for “use in budget formulation, planning, resource allocation, assessment of police operations, etc., to help address the crime problem at various levels.” The FBI’s publications are widely used by the government and by the press to provide the public with important information about trends in crime.

Although these crime reports have several uses as well as significant implications for policy decisions, it is also important to note that they are not perfect. Uniformity and reporting inconsistencies have long been cited by critics of the statistics. One of the primary contributors to these issues is the fact that all of the data provided by the UCR program is submitted voluntarily by individual agencies. As a result, the FBI is only able to provide recording guidelines and is unable to enforce a universal standard in each state.

About the Uniform Crime Report

According to the FBI, the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is “a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention.” Starting with only 400 cities in 1930, the UCR program has expanded to cover over 98 percent of the population from 9,491 cities in 2012.

The data collected by the UCR is voluntarily submitted by nearly every law enforcement agency in the country, and details the “offenses known to law enforcement,” persons arrested, and police employee data for all participating agencies.

Comparing Cities

The FBI also strongly cautions data users from ranking states, cities, and other localities against each other. According to the FBI, their main argument against ranking is the fact that each city is unique and has different explanations for its crime levels, as well as the fact that there are several contributors to crime that are not apparent in the UCR’s raw data.

We have previously justified our reasons for ranking when our initial coverage of Crime in America was released, but it is important to remember why crime information is so important. We make a specific point to include as much contextual information as possible in our rankings and general Crime in America coverage.

Having said that, there are still several issues with the consistency and uniformity of the UCR that prevent a perfect comparison between different cities and their crime statistics. All but three states in the U.S. have their own state UCR Program, which receives crime reporting information from the agencies in its jurisdiction then passes that information along to the FBI. Consequently, there is a lot of variance between how states report their crimes.

To help alleviate several standardization issues the FBI created the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in the late 1980s. The NIBRS was intended to improve recording practices and gather additional information on offenses. Currently, there are only 31 state UCR Programs that are certified for NIBRS participation. Of those states only 10 report directly using the programs, while the other 21 are in different stages of testing or planning and development.

Other states use the Summary Reporting System (SRS), which covers the same crimes, but does not have as well-defined categories to prevent misclassification and provide expanded information. The lack of a centralized and universally used system has long prevented proper standardization of crime statistics. Also, because the NIBRS is not used everywhere the FBI must convert data submitted using that system to the Summary Reporting System for its annual and semiannual crime reports.

Lack of Standardization

One consequence of the UCR’s lack of standardization is the fact that when changes to the system occur the adjustment process becomes very complicated and typically takes a long time. This can be seen in the adaptation of the FBI’s new definition of rape, which was updated to be more inclusive just this year. Although the change was recent, only some of the cities and states have started using the new definition. It will take several years before all of the 1,800 plus law enforcement agencies to voluntarily adjust their recording methods. In the meantime, the public will have to wait before a more realistic understanding of rape offenses in the U.S. is available.

Despite the new definition of rape, the FBI was still unable to aggregate a violent crime statistic for Chicago in its most recent release. The Chicago Police Department does not report its rape statistics, rather it uses a broader classification called “criminal sexual assault.” Although rape was redefined, the FBI’s definition is still incompatible with the one used in Chicago. Consequently, the city’s violent crime total has been left off the FBI’s report for several years.

Another important issue with the Uniform Crime Report is the issue of city boundaries, which frequently vary in the amount area that is included within the official city limits. As a result, law enforcement agencies are able to include statistics for areas that would not generally be considered part of the city. The inclusion of statistics from cities’ surrounding areas like suburbs, which are generally perceived as safer than the urban core, can have a deflationary effect on crime rates. One notable example of this issue is the case of St. Louis, which has its boundaries drawn tightly around the urban core. As a result, violent crime rates tend to be higher for areas with greater population density, while expansive city boundaries often yield lower numbers in terms of violent crime per capita.

Reporting Issues

The FBI’s uniform crime report often falls under scrutiny for its use of what is called “The Hierarchy Rule.” According to the FBI, this rule “requires counting only the highest offense and ignoring all others.” While it is important to note that this only affects crime reporting and not the actual number of charges against a defendant, it may still lead to incomplete violent crime statistics. Although the NIBRS system does not follow this rule and records each offense individually, its numbers must be converted to the Summary Reporting System for the UCR, which only takes the highest crime in the hierarchy.

Finally, there have been several challenges to the accuracy or reporting done by individual cities, and while a systemic problem remains to be seen there have been multiple incidents of reporting errors. The most recent example of this occurred in Milwaukee, where an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed a trend of underreported crime. The Journal Sentinel’s findings prompted a police department review that found over 5,300 underreported aggravated assaults during a six-year period, a 20 percent rate of error. As a result of these misreported crimes, the city’s violent crime rate in 2011 was reported to have decreased by 2.3 percent, when in reality it actually went up by 1.1 percent from the previous year, which also included underreported numbers. Similar problems have been large cities like New Orleans, New York City, and Dallas.

Although there has been a lot of criticism about the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, it remains the most official and accurate source of information available to the public. It represents a significant undertaking from the FBI to aggregate and organize a massive amount of data for public consumption. Despite the UCR’s drawbacks, the FBI has worked to respond to its critics and is continually trying to improve the accuracy of its data.

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Correction: The original version of this article misstated the number of law enforcement agencies that participate in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. There are about 18,000 law enforcement agencies not 1,800.

Kevin Rizzo (@kevinrizzo10)

Featured Image Courtesy of [Flickr]

Kevin Rizzo

The post Behind the FBI’s Crime Statistics appeared first on Law Street.

New FBI Data for Dangerous Mid-Sized Cities: Crime Drops, Flint Stands Out

Chelsey D. Goff — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 17:26:59 +0000

Mirroring the national trend of declining violent crime, the majority of Law Street’s Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities under 200,000 continue to experience decreases in overall violent crime. Based on new data released by the FBI February 18, seven out of these Top 10 cities had less crime than the same period during the prior year. Five of the Top 10 show sharper declines than the national average of -5.4 percent — most notably Flint, Mich. where violent crime was nearly 27 percent behind the 2012 six-month figures.

The FBI’s semiannual report covers January to June 2013 — 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 original 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 for developing Crime in America 2014 coverage.

1. Flint, Mich.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Flint, Mich. ranks as the number one most dangerous city with a population under 200,000; however, it leads this pack with a 26.38 percent drop in total violent crime from January to June 2013 versus prior year. Flint is one of many cities reporting rape data this year according to the FBI’s new, expanded definition of forcible rape, so the year over year data for this particular category is not comparable; however, the city’s huge decreases in murder, robbery, and aggravated assault all counter balanced that particular issue. With a violent crime rate of 1,021 per 100,000 people, Flint shows some signs of progress.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -26.38%
Murder: -22.58%
Rape: +45.161%*
Robbery: -17.97%
Aggravated Assault: -33.07%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF FLINT’S 2012 RANKING

2. New Haven, Conn.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
The #2 Most Dangerous City under 200,000, New Haven, Conn. shows modest gains in its fight against crime. Violent crime in the state’s second-largest city dropped 8.11 percent in the first six months of 2013 versus the same period in 2012. Despite a 37.50 percent increase in rape (associated with the FBI’s new, expanded definition of forcible rape), there were still significant declines in the remaining categories of murder, robbery, and aggravated assault (-11.11 percent, -1.39 percent, and -16.45 percent, respectively).

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -8.11%
Murder: -11.11%
Rape: +37.50%*
Robbery: -1.39%
Aggravated Assault: -16.45%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF NEW HAVEN’S 2012 RANKING

3. Rockford, Ill.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Illinois’ second most populous city, Rockford, experienced a 6.37 percent decrease in total violent crime from January to June 2013 over the prior year. Robbery in the #3 Most Dangerous City under 200,000 dropped by nearly a quarter, and although murder increased by the same amount, this reflected a move from four murders to five.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -6.37%
Murder: +25.00%
Rape: +21.31%*
Robbery: -24.46%
Aggravated Assault: -3.18%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF ROCKFORD’S 2012 RANKING

4. Hartford, Conn.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Connecticut’s capital city is the #4 Most Dangerous City under 200,000, and the second of three Nutmeg State cities on this list. Similar to New Haven, Hartford’s violent crime dropped by nearly nine percent during the first six months of 2013, including an 11 percent decrease in murder and a nearly 19 percent drop in aggravated assault. Not encouragingly, rape in the city increased by more than 33 percent, while robbery was up nearly five percent.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -8.96%
Murder: -11.11%
Rape: +33.33%
Robbery: +4.47%
Aggravated Assault: -18.20%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF HARTFORD’S 2012 RANKING

5. Little Rock, Ark.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Arkansas’ capital, the #5 Most Dangerous City under 200,000, didn’t fare quite as well as the top four Most Dangerous Cities on this list. Violent crime in Little Rock increased slightly in the first six months of 2013 due to a 19 percent spike in robbery. Murder, aggravated assault, and rape were all down year over year (-14.29 percent, -2.63 percent, and -23.61 percent respectively), though the rape figures are not comparable to prior year.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: +2.03%
Murder: -14.29%
Rape: -23.61%*
Robbery: +19.53%
Aggravated Assault: -2.63%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF LITTLE ROCK’S 2012 RANKING

6. Bridgeport, Conn.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Bridgeport, Connecticut’s most populous, experienced the greatest drop in violent crime during the first six months of 2013 of all three off the state’s ranking cities. The #6 Most Dangerous City under 200,000 experienced declines in three out of four violent crime categories, including half as many murders than the same period during the prior year; however, there was a slight increase in rape, as the city moved from 25 to 28 cases in 2013.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -11.73%
Murder: -54.55%
Rape: +12.00%
Robbery: -11.74%
Aggravated Assault: -12.04%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF BRIDGEPORT’S 2012 RANKING

7. Richmond, Calif.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Richmond, Calif., the #7 Most Dangerous City under 200,000, experienced the sharpest increase (+19.53 percent) in violent crime of the Top Ten cities on this list. Crime in the bay area city increased in three out of four violent crime categories, most notably robbery and aggravated assault (+22.95 percent and +20.18 percent, respectively).

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: +19.53%
Murder: +10.00%
Rape: -13.04%
Robbery: +22.95%
Aggravated Assault: +20.18%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF RICHMOND’S 2012 RANKING

8. Odessa, Texas

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
Violent crime in Odessa, Texas remained fairly constant during January to June 2013 over prior year, with a decrease of less than one percent. Robbery and rape increased minimally (25 and 4 more cases for this period, respectively), and aggravated assault declined by nearly seven percent.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -0.70%
Murder: +/-0.00%
Rape: +17.39%
Robbery: +42.37%
Aggravated Assault: -6.75%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF ODESSA’S 2012 RANKING

9. Paterson, N.J.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
New Jersey’s third most populous city, and the only member of the Garden State ranked on this list, Paterson’s violent crime declined modestly during the first six months of 2013 (versus 2012). Declines in murder and aggravated assault were countered by increases in rape (+22.22 percent) and robbery (+4.28 percent) in the first half of the year.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: -2.95%
Murder: -44.44%
Rape: +22.22%
Robbery: +4.28%
Aggravated Assault: -11.21%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF PATERSON’S 2012 RANKING

10. Springfield, Mass.

PRELIMINARY 2013 UPDATE
New England’s fourth-largest city, Springfield, Mass., rounds out the list of Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities under 200,000. The western Massachusetts city experienced an increase in violent crime across all relevant categories except for aggravated assault, which decreased by seven percent. Most notably, murder in Springfield was more than 83 percent ahead of the same time period in 2012.

PRELIMINARY 2013 VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS
Data below reflects changes for period January to June 2013 versus same period in 2012.
Total Violent Crime: +6.43%
Murder: +83.33%
Rape: +42.86%*
Robbery: +32.39%
Aggravated Assault: -7.18%

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF SPRINGFIELD’S 2012 RANKING

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Chelsey Goff, Anneliese Mahoney, Ashley Powell, and Kevin Rizzo.

Sources:

Violent crime, population, murder, and officer statistics are from the FBI Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January – June 2013.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

*The figure shown for the 2013 rape offense was reported using the new definition of rape and is not comparable to previous years’ historical forcible rape data.

Chelsey D. Goff

The post New FBI Data for Dangerous Mid-Sized Cities: Crime Drops, Flint Stands Out appeared first on Law Street.

Infographic: Crime Dropping Across the US

Kevin Rizzo — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 19:00:23 +0000

Kevin Rizzo

The post Infographic: Crime Dropping Across the US appeared first on Law Street.

Redefining Rape: The FBI’s Latest Statistics

Anneliese Mahoney — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 15:05:50 +0000

Law Street’s inaugural Crime in America rankings, based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Statistics, were published last fall. As we prepare for updates of those statistics this week, it’s important to revisit the way in which the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) handles the reporting of rape cases.

The FBI has long been criticized on this topic. For years, the Bureau used an archaic definition of rape, stating it was “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” Obviously that excludes a large number of various sexual-based offenses, and gives a false impression of the sexual assault that happens in the United States. After intense lobbying and criticism, the FBI made moves to amend this definition. Now it reads, “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This definition went into effect in on January 1, 2013, and given that the data being released this week is from January through June 2013, this is the first time we’ll see the impact of the new definition.

I use “see” as a very subjective term though, because I honestly don’t have a prediction for how this may or may not change the rape statistics we see in the Uniform Crime Report. Common sense would indicate that there would be an uptick in reported rapes, given that the definition is now more inclusive. That being said, rape is such a difficult and sensitive issue that it’s long been predicted that rapes are underreported partly because of FBI statistics, but possibly even more because of societal pressures and victim shaming. A study by the National Research Council during the winter of 2013 reported that rape statistics are so bad and inaccurate in the United States because of a combination of bad definitions (such as the FBI’s old definition) but also because of underreporting. This definition will certainly tackle one of those problems, but sexual assault incidents that aren’t brought to the police obviously will still not be included in the statistics.

There will also probably be a few years of mixed data as agencies work to implement this definition. The Uniform Crime Report and FBI data is somewhat constrained by the states, and inconsistencies abound. For example, if you look through our 2012 crime rankings, the city of Chicago is excluded because of its different reporting practices. The new definition of rape is no exception — it will presumably be inconsistent at the state level for at least a couple years. Some of the inconsistencies will indubitably stem from the fact that there are currently two different ways that states report crimes to the FBI. Some use a summary-like method that is pretty basic. It allows a state to give an amalgamation of the crimes reported. However, fourteen states use the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) which allows for significantly more specific reporting. Another 21 states submit data partially to the NIBRS. The NIBRS already was using a more updated version of rape, so that data will now be able to be used fully in the Uniform Crime Report. As for states that report via the summary system, they are given some time to implement rape reporting under the new definition. This all sounds very complicated, and in a lot of ways it is. While the FBI is definitely moving in the right direction with this, I’m predicting a few years of confusion and inconsistencies as the process of reporting rape and sexual crimes becomes more centralized.

Before the Uniform Crime Report statistics come out, some states or cities do release their individual findings. In the few that I have found, whether rape will increase because of this definition seems inconclusive. In Rochester, NY, reported rapes fell slightly. However, there’s no telling whether that is based on the fact that Rochester, NY has always reported their rape statistics based on their definition, and then the UCR edited them to only reflect the old FBI definition, or whether the change in definition really didn’t have an effect.

Therein lies the larger problem. We can talk about getting accurate statistics all we like, but quite frankly, the way that the state governments and Federal government handle rape reporting is messy at best. I can assure you that the statistics reported within this new definition will be better, but they still won’t be good enough or truly reflective of the problem. Until we really do have a unified effort to figure out how, when, and why sexual crimes occur, the rape statistics should be taken with a grain of salt.

—

Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Click here to read FBI’s new definition of rape.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

Anneliese Mahoney

The post Redefining Rape: The FBI’s Latest Statistics appeared first on Law Street.

Crime in America 2013

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:30:47 +0000

In the United States, more than 80 percent of our citizens reside in cities and suburbs, and the safety of each varies greatly across the nation. Law Street Media’s Crime in America feature provides the first comprehensive look at the FBI’s current crime statistics for every American city with a population over 100,000 people. Take a look at the rankings and features below to discover how safe your city actually is. Check back regularly for continued reporting and additional features.

Research and analysis by Law Street’s Crime in America Team: Kasandra Cisneros, Valeriya Metla, Asim Mian, and Kevin Rizzo.

Sources: FBI 2012 Uniform Crime Report, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Chelsey D. Goff

The post Crime in America 2013 appeared first on Law Street.

What the FBI Says About Its Uniform Crime Reports

Chelsey D. Goff — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 11:30:52 +0000

Following is the full text of the FBI’s disclaimer about the use of its Uniform Crime Reports. The disclaimer appears here in its entirety.

Variables Affecting Crime

Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities—news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation—use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction. Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents.

Consider Other Characteristics of a Jurisdiction

To assess criminality and law enforcement’s response from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, one must consider many variables, some of which, while having significant impact on crime, are not readily measurable or applicable pervasively among all locales. Geographic and demographic factors specific to each jurisdiction must be considered and applied if one is going to make an accurate and complete assessment of crime in that jurisdiction. Several sources of information are available that may assist the responsible researcher in exploring the many variables that affect crime in a particular locale. The U.S. Census Bureau data, for example, can be used to better understand the makeup of a locale’s population. The transience of the population, its racial and ethnic makeup, its composition by age and gender, educational levels, and prevalent family structures are all key factors in assessing and comprehending the crime issue.

Local chambers of commerce, government agencies, planning offices, or similar entities provide information regarding the economic and cultural makeup of cities and counties. Understanding a jurisdiction’s industrial/economic base; its dependence upon neighboring jurisdictions; its transportation system; its economic dependence on nonresidents (such as tourists and convention attendees); its proximity to military installations, correctional facilities, etc., all contribute to accurately gauging and interpreting the crime known to and reported by law enforcement.

The strength (personnel and other resources) and the aggressiveness of a jurisdiction’s law enforcement agency are also key factors in understanding the nature and extent of crime occurring in that area. Although information pertaining to the number of sworn and civilian employees can be found in this publication, it cannot be used alone as an assessment of the emphasis that a community places on enforcing the law. For example, one city may report more crime than a comparable one, not because there is more crime, but rather because its law enforcement agency, through proactive efforts, identifies more offenses. Attitudes of the citizens toward crime and their crime reporting practices, especially concerning minor offenses, also have an impact on the volume of crimes known to police.

Make Valid Assessments of Crime

It is incumbent upon all data users to become as well educated as possible about how to understand and quantify the nature and extent of crime in the United States and in any of the more than 18,000 jurisdictions represented by law enforcement contributors to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Valid assessments are possible only with careful study and analysis of the various unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction.

Historically, the causes and origins of crime have been the subjects of investigation by many disciplines. Some factors that are known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are:

Population density and degree of urbanization.
Variations in composition of the population, particularly youth concentration.
Stability of the population with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors.
Modes of transportation and highway system.
Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and job availability.
Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics.
Family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness.
Climate.
Effective strength of law enforcement agencies.
Administrative and investigative emphases of law enforcement.
Policies of other components of the criminal justice system (i.e., prosecutorial, judicial, correctional, and probational).
Citizens’ attitudes toward crime.
Crime reporting practices of the citizenry.

Crime in the United States provides a nationwide view of crime based on statistics contributed by local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies. Population size and student enrollment are the only correlates of crime presented in this publication. Although many of the listed factors equally affect the crime of a particular area, the UCR Program makes no attempt to relate them to the data presented. The data user is, therefore, cautioned against comparing statistical data of individual reporting units from cities, counties, metropolitan areas, states, or colleges or universities solely on the basis of their population coverage or student enrollment. Until data users examine all the variables that affect crime in a town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction, they can make no meaningful comparisons.

Uniform Crime Report Ranking Disclaimer is from the FBI.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

Chelsey D. Goff

The post What the FBI Says About Its Uniform Crime Reports appeared first on Law Street.

Defining Rape: The FBI Takes Action

Anneliese Mahoney — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 11:30:48 +0000

In 2011, a debate over the FBI’s definition of rape emerged. Each year, the FBI creates Uniform Crime Reports, a cooperative effort to gather crime statistics from various jurisdictions all across the United States. In 2011, the FBI was still using a definition that was written in the 1930s. It constituted rape as, “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” This definition came under heavy fire, slammed for being incredibly narrow. There were numerous problems with this definition, but one of the most heavily cited problems included that under this definition, men could not be victims of rape. Another was that under this definition, the victim must have tried to physically resist the assault, preventing victims who were drugged or terrified from being counted. It also could not include any other kind of sexual assault, such as forcing a victim to perform sexual activities. Incest and statutory rape were both excluded.

As a result of this archaic definition, thousands of rapes were not being included in the Uniform Crime Reports each year. After intensive lobbying from special interest groups, law enforcement, and Congress; the FBI did eventually change its definition, in March of 2012. The new definition reads: “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” This definition will be put into place for the first time in the Uniform Crime Reports of 2013.

Despite the old definition used by the FBI, many states and cities had long since updated their methods of defining rape and sexual assault. In the years between state statutes updating their definitions, and the FBI taking the same steps, cities and states had to report two separate pieces of data: the ones that were included in a state statue’s usually broader definition, and the smaller number that fell into the FBI’s narrow definition. For example, in 2010, NYPD reported 1,369 rapes, but only 1,036 were entered into the FBI’s database. Minneapolis actually over-reported their rapes, stating that the cases they reported were accurate according to their modern definition, and that they did not have the resources to filter out cases for the FBI’s reports.

One of the few places that did not take efforts to break down the data this way was the city of Chicago. In 2010, Chicago had approximately 1,400 sexual assaults. Not a single one of these made their way into the FBI report, because the FBI did not accept the way that Chicago reported their rapes. For years, Chicago was not included on the FBI list of cities, or any of the underlying data because of this lack of reporting. The first year in which Chicago will actually be able to report their rape statistics accurately will be 2013, so expect changes to violent crime statistics to happen in the new Uniform Crime Reports to be released for 2013. If the measure of violent crime were based on murder, robbery, and aggravated assault (excluding forcible rape), Chicago, Ill. would rank 33 on the overall list of Most Dangerous Cities for calendar 2012.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

Anneliese Mahoney

The post Defining Rape: The FBI Takes Action appeared first on Law Street.

Why We Rank: The Public’s Right to Know

John A. Jenkins — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 11:30:40 +0000

America is a nation of lists. We rate and rank colleges and universities, hospitals, school systems, governmental entities, college football teams, movies, songs (with a bullet), and just about anything else that matters to us, from the frivolous to the most serious.

And crime is one rating that really matters to all of us.

Law Street’s Crime in America utilizes the FBI’s comprehensive collection of crime statistics from 286 American cities to provide a valuable perspective on personal safety in the United States. The FBI releases these statistics annually, and in doing so it performs a significant public service. We at Law Street are engaged in a journalistic service of our own by analyzing and further disseminating the FBI’s results.

If the past is a guide, our Crime in America rankings will be met with criticism by cities with high crime rates and welcomed by those deemed safest. Scholars who rely on the FBI data as the starting point for their own analyses will nonetheless register their objections. Even the FBI hasn’t been spared this criticism, to the point where the agency now even publishes its own disclaimer. We, too, repeat the FBI’s disclaimer.

Criminologists have received millions of dollars from the federal government in recent years to tell the FBI how it could do a better job of crime data gathering and dissemination – you can read one such report for yourself and see whether it is worth the $4.5 million that the Justice Department paid for it. Looking at that report, one thing that stands out is that the researchers could not easily come to terms with how to make the FBI’s reporting better or more meaningful. And that is not surprising, because crime is as much about perception as it is about reality. A city with some very safe streets may still rank among the most dangerous overall. And although rankings alone cannot tell the whole story, there is still a certain validity to them from a purely qualitative level. Where do you feel safer: strolling the streets of Flint, or Irvine?

In the end, the rankings are what they are – imperfect measures, but illuminating nevertheless. And although some cities may argue against them in order to protect tourism dollars – a few years ago, St. Louis business interests spent $500,000 on a PR campaign against the crime rankings – those same cities also use the rankings to their advantage, to argue for more resources with which to fight such high levels of crime. In fact, that is exactly what is happening in St. Louis. Once ranked Most Dangerous, it was the only city in the Top 10 this year where violent crime significantly dropped.

Acknowledging the limitations of the FBI data doesn’t mean the agency’s reporting is without great value. In fact, the crime data gathered by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program is used by states and localities to target crime-fighting resources, and by the federal government to direct billions of dollars in federal taxpayer dollars to local police forces who urgently need the funding. Without the FBI’s crime data, such federal programs could not exist; crime-fighting accountability would be weakened; and the public would be denied its right to know. That is why we rank.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

John A. Jenkins

John A. Jenkins is Founder & CEO of Law Street Media. Contact John at jjenkins@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Why We Rank: The Public’s Right to Know appeared first on Law Street.

Crime Ranking Methodology

Kevin Rizzo — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 11:30:36 +0000

Law Street’s Crime Team used the FBI’s four major violent crime categories – murders, aggravated assaults, robberies, and forcible rapes – to create a standard measure of violent-crimes-per-100,000 people among all cities reporting crime data to the FBI. This allows year-to-year and city-to-city comparisons. To derive the ratio, the total number of violent crimes reported to the FBI is divided by the city’s population, with the result then multiplied by 100,000. The formula for this calculation is shown below. Crime ratings were further broken down by population, with 200,000 used as the dividing point.

Violent Crime Rate = (Total Violent Crime in a City/City Population) x 100,000

Click here for all Law Street Crime data.

Click here to read more Crime in America coverage.

Kevin Rizzo

The post Crime Ranking Methodology appeared first on Law Street.

Uniform Crime Report – Law Street

What Do Crime Trends Look Like in America’s Largest Cities?

Crime in America 2017

Rankings

Interactive Dashboard

Charts and Data

NOTES

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

#1 Irvine, California

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Under 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here for the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

#1 Rockford, Illinois

Crime in America 2017: Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES UNDER 200,000

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 SAFEST CITIES OVER 200,000

#1 St. Louis, Missouri

Infographic: Visualizing Crime in America 2016

For an even more in-depth look at Law Street’s crime coverage check out Crime in America 2016.

Violent Crime Ticks up Slightly in First Half of 2015

Dangerous Cities Under 200,000: Mixed Bag of Results for Early 2015 Crime

#1 Little Rock, Arkansas

#2 Rockford, Illinois

#3 Springfield, Missouri

#4 Lansing, Michigan

#5 Hartford, Connecticut

#6 Springfield, Massachusetts

#7 Springfield, Illinois

#8 New Haven, Connecticut

#9 Chattanooga, Tennessee

#10 Worcester, Massachusetts

Safest Cities: Five of Top 10 See Crime Decrease in First Half of 2015

#1 Irvine, California

#2 Gilbert, Arizona

#3 Fremont, California

#4 Virginia Beach, Virginia

#5 Santa Clarita, California

#6 Henderson, Nevada

#7 Plano, Texas

#8 Chandler, Arizona

#9 Irving, Texas

#10 Chula Vista, California

Crime Rates in the Most Popular U.S. Travel Destinations

Click here to see the Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities Over 200,000

Click here to see the Top 10 Safest Cities Over 200,000

Click here to see all of Law Street Media’s Crime in America Coverage

New York, New York

Crime in America 2016: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metro Areas

Read More: Crime Rankings for the Midwest, Northeast, South, and West

Read More: Interactive Crime Map of the United States

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Midwest Metros

Read More: Crime Rankings for the Northeast, South, and West

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Read More: Interactive Crime Map of the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the Midwest

Top 10 Safest Metros in the Midwest

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

Read More: Crime Rankings for the Midwest, South, and West

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Read More: Interactive Crime Map of the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

Top 10 Safest Most Dangerous Metros in the Northeast

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the South

Read More: Crime Rankings for the Midwest, Northeast, and West

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Read More: Interactive Crime Map of the United States

Top 10 Most Dangerous Metros in the South

Top 10 Safest Metros in the South

Click here to see full Crime in America 2016 Coverage, including the Safest & Most Dangerous Cities and States.

Crime in America 2016: Safest & Most Dangerous Metros in the West

Read More: Crime Rankings for the Midwest, Northeast, and South

Read More: Slideshow: Top 15 Most Dangerous Metros in the United States

Read More: Interactive Crime Map of the United States