Media outlets over the weekend carried reports of a new study published by a private research group that named Detroit as the most dangerous U.S. city. The study was based on an analysis of FBI crime data carried out by CQ Press, a unit of Congressional Quarterly Inc. According to an Associated Press report, the study has been harshly criticized by Detroit city officials and other groups that question its methodology and use of data.
The CQ Press study was based on per-capita rates for the incidence of various crimes, which were in turn weighted on the basis of their seriousness. The most dangerous cities according to the study were Detroit; St. Louis; Flint, Mich.; Oakland, Calif.; Camden, N.J.; Birmingham, Ala.; North Charleston, S.C.; and Memphis, Tenn.
According to the AP, the FBI itself criticized the ratings, saying on its Web site that "these rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region."
The debate makes it clear that there is no easily agreed-upon way to determine exactly which city or region is the most dangerous, or the safest. In recent years, The Gallup Poll has contributed its own public opinion data to the mix of ways in which cities can be ranked, based on the results of a question that asks Americans their views of whether a list of cities in the United States are safe to live in or visit.
The results of the latest such rankings, from October 2006, show that in the court of public opinion, the American people seem to agree with the recent analysis of FBI statistics: Detroit is viewed as the least safe of any of the 16 major cities rated.
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