KPIX TV was nice enough to remind us last night on the 6:30 news that Richmond has the dubious distinction of being named the most dangerous city in California and the 12^th most dangerous city in the United States.

 

This comes from an annual ranking by Morgan Quitno Press that also found San Jose to be the safest large city in America. The rankings were based on weighted comparisons of 2003 crime data released by the FBI in October 2004, so they reflect last year’s crime rather than this year’s.

 

Richmond has struggled with the image of a crime-ridden city for many years, but 2004 statistics are showing some improvement. See Murder and Violence in Richmond, October 16, 2004.

 

Getting off this list should be a major objective of not only the City Council but of all who live and work in Richmond.

 

The rankings in the latest study are shown below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Safe is Your City?

Find out how your city ranks in our 11^th Annual America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities Award competition. For just $4.99, you can download a 27-page report in PDF format that instantly provides you with city and metro crime data, rankings, methodology and other important information about this year’s award. Order now and you can immediately download the document to your own computer and read or print using the free Acrobat Reader program.  Click here for more details and to see if your city is included.

Methodology

The methodology for determining America’s Safest City and Metro Area involves a multi-step process. First, 2003 city and metro area crime rates per 100,000 population (the most recent comparable final numbers available, released by the FBI in October 2004) for six basic crime categories — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft — were plugged into a formula that measured how a particular city or metro area compared to the national average for a given crime category. The outcome of this equation was then multiplied by a weight assigned to each of the six crime categories. Each of the six crimes was given equal weight. By weighting each crime equally, cities are compared based purely on their crime rates and how they stack up to the national average for a particular crime category. These weighted numbers then were added together for a city or metro area’s final score. Finally, these scores were ranked from lowest to highest to determine which cities and metropolitan areas were safest and most dangerous.

While this methodology appears rather complicated, it results in fairer treatment because a city or metro area’s crime record is measured against the national average. The farther below the national average, the higher (and better) a city or metro ranked in the final Safest Cities and Metros list; the farther above the national average, the lower (and worse) a city or metro ranked in the final list.

As in our last six years' awards, all cities of 75,000 population or more that reported data for the six categories of crime measured for the survey were included in the competition. In previous years, the population cut-off for cities was 100,000+ population. There was no population minimum for metropolitan areas.  In all, 354 cities and 320 metro areas were included in the survey.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

 

San Jose remains atop the list of the safest big cities in the U.S. following the release of a study today based on FBI crime statistics, according to a city spokesman.

 

Of the 32 cities across the nation with a population of more than 500,000 people, San Jose was again ranked the safest city with two other California cities ranking in the top 10.

 

San Francisco dropped from seventh to ninth while San Diego slipped from fifth to seventh compared to last year' study by the Morgan Quitno Press, city according to David Vossbrink.

 

"Protecting the people of San Jose is one of my highest priorities, and I am very proud that San Jose remains the nation's safest big city year after year,'' Mayor Ron Gonzales said in a written statement. "Keeping our residents and neighborhoods safe is the result of our continuing investments in an excellent, well-trained and well-equipped police force, a strong commitment to crime prevention, and an effective partnership with all the people in our community to focus on solutions that protect public safety.''

 

The study is based upon crime statistics for the number of murders, rapes, aggravated assaults, robberies, burglaries and auto thefts within the city, Vossbrink said.

 

The most dangerous big city is Detroit, Mich., according to the study.

 

Detroit is the site of an ugly brawl between NBA basketball players and fans on Friday, with fans running onto the court and throwing objects at the players.

 

Three SoCal cities ranked among the country's safest
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Monday, November 22, 2004

(11-22) 06:58 PST MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (AP) --

Three Southern California cities are among the top 10 safest cities in the country, according to an annual ranking based on crime statistics.

Mission Viejo and Lake Forest in Orange County were ranked the fourth and sixth safest cities, respectively, while Thousand Oaks in Ventura County was listed seventh. Overall, Newton, Mass., was considered the safest.

The rankings were to be released Monday by Lawrence, Kan.-based Morgan Quitno Corp., which will publish its annual reference book, "City Crime Rankings," next month.

While no California cities made the company's top 10 list of most dangerous cities, there were several among the top 25. Richmond came in at 12, San Bernardino at 16, Compton at 17 and Oakland at 24.

Camden, N.J., was named the nation's most-dangerous city, snatching the top spot from Detroit, which fell to second.

The rankings look at the rate for six crime categories: Murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and auto theft. It compares 350 cities with populations of 75,000 or more that reported crime data to the FBI. Final 2003 statistics, released by the FBI in October, were used to determine the rankings.