The 2010 "Most Unsafe Cities" list has been published by the CQ Press. Last year’s leading rated city, Camden, N.J., was bumped into second place by new number 1 St. Louis. Critics call the CQ biggest risk cities list "irresponsible," but CQ Press defends the ratings as a way for communities to hold civic leaders accountable.

The most hazardous cities in The United States

St. Louis reached the top of the CQ biggest risk cities in 2009 after being number 2 behind Camden the year before. Third place is Detroit, Michigan. Right next to Detroit is Flint which came in fourth place. Oakland, California, rounds out the leading five. Places within the United States of America are compared based on violent crimes by CQ Press. Auto theft, burglary, aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery are all included in this list. You will find 2,070.1 chaotic offences per 100,000 people in St. Louis according to the 2009 survey. 429.4 is the average throughout the nation. Camden finished seven points behind St. Louis and 18 points ahead of Detroit.

Overview of chaotic criminal offense statistics

Probably the most unsafe cities are rated by CQ Press. Federal Bureau of Investigation crime data has to be used for this. The methodology of the survey is something the Associated Press accounts area officials and criminologists question. A spokesperson for the St. Louis Police Department told AP that the most dangerous places list was irresponsible. The Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn’t appreciate its data getting used in ways like this, reports the AP. This is exactly what Greg Scarbro who is the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program’s unit chief said. A spokesman for the mayor’s office in St. Louis said crime has gone down each year since 2007. Camden Mayor Dana Redd told the Philadelphia Daily News that CQ issued a "flawed" report, published "for the sake of making a buck."

Most secure cities based on CQ

In contrast to the most hazardous places, CQ Press named El Paso, TX, a border area with raging Mexican drug violence right next door, as the most secure of all cities of its size in the U.S. Honolulu was 2nd safest and NY Area was 3rd. El Paso had only been up to 2nd and third on the CQ safest places report which makes this the first time it has come first.

Articles cited

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hjbTudvgLq379jbYawS7w_WOFUjA?docId=22c9981f4ca34807ba7ac8dc07726067

Philadelphia Daily News

philly.com/dailynews/local/20101122_Camden_loses_crime_title.html

El Paso Times

elpasotimes.com/ci_16670537?source=most_viewed