CQ Press, which is an independent publisher, listed St. Louis as the most dangerous city in America. Last year it was Camden NJ. St. Louis can be proud of an astounding 2,000-plus violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Kara Bowlin, spokeswoman for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, said the city actually has been getting safer over the last few years. She said crime in St. Louis has gone down each year since 2007, and so far in 2010, St. Louis crime is down 7 percent.
What do you think? Is this a good illustration of how people can easily pick and choose the statistics they need to achieve what they want?
Would you say St. Louis is a dangerous city no matter how you look at it?
I realize there are many variables, one's in Florida, one's in Iowa, not to mention the backgrounds of the offenders. But I couldn't help but notice that the life of a cop is so much more valuable that actually killing someone who is not in law enforcement gets you half as much time as just shooting AT a cop.
What's your opinion? Is something wrong with that? Please leave a comment.
CNN reports on the good news from the FBI: violent crime was down in 2008.
Violent crime in the United States declined in 2008, due in part to a significant drop in the number of murders, according to the first available FBI figures covering the entire year.
The preliminary figures for 2008, released Monday, show that overall reported crime dropped 2.5 percent nationally from the previous year, including a 4.4 percent decline in murders.
Overall, the number of aggravated assaults declined 3.2 percent, forcible rape decreased 2.2 percent, and robbery decreased 1.1 percent.
The article explains that over the last two decades there has been a general decline in violent crime with the exception of 2005. With these latest figures the FBI is happy to report that the downward trend has resumed.
What could account for the spike in crime during 2005? How do you explain the general trend regardless of the presumed increase in firearm availability?
What's your opinion? Because these figures come from the FBI, are they trustworthy? Is it very cynical of me to even question numbers like these, from this impeccable source?
It reminds me of that time Marlo was hiding all those bodies in the vacant buildings in Baltimore or Prez learned that it's the same wherever you go.
"Juking the stats. Makin' robberies into larcenies. Makin' rapes disappear. You juke the stats and majors become colonels."
