Crime is up and down in the US in 2023, depending on the type of crime. FBI statistics have often been used for measurements, but that may change. More recent information comes from the think tank Council on Criminal Justice. It showed murders down through the first half of the year across the 34 cities measured. However, property crime was up 34% from the first half of last year. As is the case with most demographic statistics, figures vary widely from state to state and city to city.
A new study from Scholaroo titled “Safest Cities to Live in the U.S.” looked at 150 major US cities. The research also showed the most dangerous metros. Among the measures were the number of police officers, murders, sexual assault, sex offenders, and robberies. These were used to create an index. The authors wrote about the top of the list, “These cities not only provide a sense of security but also offer a high quality of life to their residents.”
The “safe” list was topped by St. Paul, MN, the twin city of Minneapolis, with a score of 101. The lower the city’s number, the safer it is considered. It was followed by Port. St. Lucie, FL, and Cranston, RI.
At the far end of the list were several cities that were large when America’s industrial sector was booming. The bottom of the list belonged to Detroit, which often does very poorly on this kind of ranking. Detroit was followed by Memphis, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. Another measure of metros includes the drunkest states.
Detroit has been considered so dangerous recently that it has been called “The Murder Capital of America.” The city has been plagued by trends that often go hand in hand with crime rates. The population has dropped by half since 1950.
Detroit’s median household income is $34.762, about half the national average. The poverty rate is almost 32%, which is more than double the national figure.
The demographic trends are such in Detroit that it is unlikely to ever be a safe city again.
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